Traffic police personnel have been leading a stressful life in view of mounting pressure to maintain vehicular traffic during peak hours in Jammu City, senior officials said.
Congested roads and 50 per cent increase in vehicular traffic, according to SSP Traffic, Jammu, Shiv Kumar Sharma, has made the job of Traffic Police tough even as they try to keep smooth plying of traffic on bumpy roads like Panama Chowk–Narwal.
“This Panama Chowk-Narwal road always has heavy rush and due to bad condition of road, the trucks, and other vehicles ply very slowly. Therefore, the road remains jam,” said the SSP who heads traffic cops in the District.
The SSP said that with the nature of job, the stress level among traffic police personnel have increased and conflict with commuters has become part of their professional duty.
“Traffic rule violators are not happy when they are panelized for violation of traffic rules. They argue with us. What can we do, it is part of the job to streamline traffic movement as well as to make people obey traffic rules,” added the SSP who advocated that the traffic police should have a public friendly approach despite the nature of the job.
“We have decided not to stop any leave of the traffic police personnel. They have the right to be with their family and it will also help us to perform our job more effectively,” he said.
The traffic police personnel do not have proper infrastructure to take rest, or sit. We do not have booths for the personnel in every Chowk, he added.
He said that TalabTillo Road, Janipur-Court road, Bathindi – Sunjwan – Narwal road, Wave Mall roads have more traffic rush and jam then other places of Jammu City where pressure of traffic has increased with the opening of darbar offices here in the winter capital.
“We have identified 80 different points where deployment has been made and over 60 police personnel from Armed Police have been shifted to Traffic Police so that they can help us in maintaining vehicular traffic,” said the SSP.
He said that many times, people inform them about traffic-jam through the traffic police’s whatsapp numbers or through social media or radio telecasts. “People also do help in certain cases,” he added.