BENGALURU: This March, the city’s temperature touched 37 degree Celsius, which is higher than that in Chennai and Hyderabad. Headaches and heat strokes are common during scorching summers and doctors advise avoiding long hours of sun exposure.
While staying indoors is recommended, there are some people, especially traffic personnel, who cannot avoid the outdoors and spend at least eight hours a day braving the heat. Most chowkis are not well-maintained and need improvement. That’s why the latest plan by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to construct about 389 police kiosks across the city comes as a welcome step.
The move will bring relief to many traffic personnel who find the heat to be unbearable these days. “Whenever I want to take a break, I inform the control room and take a five-minute break. Most of the police kiosks are ill-maintained and there is no use standing inside them,” said Pratap, a traffic inspector at Balekundri Circle. Agreed another traffic official at Hebbal, who stated that skipping a day of work due to the heat isn’t an option. Which is why he has taken to carrying a water bottle to stay hydrated. “The kiosks will have air purifiers, fans and CCTV cameras. The work will start by the end of next week,” said Praveen Lingaiah, Executive Engineer, Traffic Engineering cell, BBMP.