Traffic police constable K Ramesh, with more than 20 years of service, has developed breathing problems and skin allergies over a period of time, thanks to overexposure to fumes from vehicles and dust kicked up from the roads. But he is undaunted. He says public service comes before everything else. Many of Ramesh’s colleagues in Bengaluru City Traffic Police suffer from breathing problems, skin allergies and gastric-related issues but they shrug it off in their zealousness to ensure that the City doesn’t grind to a halt.
“I have seen Bengaluru’s traffic grow in the last 20 years but now I find it hard to deal with the public who not only flout rules but also react against the police,” says Ramesh who works in the High Grounds Police Station limits.
Most of the traffic police constables, managing traffic, work in two shifts and also put in extended hours, if there’s an emergency in the City, like VVIP visits, festivals, and during the weekends. But the sentinels of the City roads have only one regret, their commitment is only met by motorists’ attitude that borders on irresponsibility and hostility.
Sharing his exercise, Kannaiah N, with the Ulsoor Gate Police Station, near Corporation Circle, who hails from a village, says that he is fortunate to be able to come and live in the City. “I really like the City life but when I started working, I found that the public doesn’t really seem to cooperate with us. We have had people who got away after being caught for an offence only because of political influence. This is sad,” he says.
Most of the traffic police personnel are provided with all safety gear like facial masks, caps, cameras and raincoats but they say that they don’t really end up wearing the mask while on work because it hinders their work. Ashwatha Narayan has completed 13 years of service and is with the Jayanagar Traffic Police jurisdiction. He says that he finds it difficult to wear the mask. “It’s difficult to blow the whistle when wearing the mask because you need to use the whistle quite often when you are using the hand signal to direct traffic,” he says. Ashwatha says that he has developed rashes all over his hands and face due to over exposure to sunlight and dust. “There’s a lot of dirt and dust stuck to my hand and face by the end of the day. Even if we have to face so much trouble, the job gives me a lot of satisfaction because I am serving the public,” he adds.
One of the biggest challenges, say the traffic police, is to enforce the existing rules and popularise the many campaigns, designed by traffic police, among the people. The traffic police have also been instructed that pictures of those who violate rules and don’t comply by them be clicked. Madhusudhan Rao, a police constable with JP Nagar Police Station, says the cameras used to click pictures of violators are not of much use.
“The cameras have a limited capacity to zoom out and by the time we try to click the picture of the offenders, they are gone. So, cameras are of limited use to us. We would rather manually note down the number,” reasons Madhusudhan.
He also feels the traffic police must get better salaries for the long hours they spend on the road. The odd hours of work leave them little time for their families or to work for the betterment of their health. Ramu HW, police constable with Shivajinagar Police Station limits, points out that the traffic police are vulnerable not only to lung-related disorders but are prone to varying blood pressure levels and diabetes faster than anybody else. “We have very odd eating hours and hardly get time to exercise or focus on our health. All this combined reduces our immunity,” he observes.
Published 02 November 2015, 19:16 IST