BENGALURU: With monsoon showers arriving this month, the Bangalore Traffic police department is all set to provide some much-needed equipment to the personnel to help them brave the rain. The department has ordered around 3,500 pairs of gumboots for the 5,000-odd traffic personnel, which will be distributed in a week’s time.
During the recent showers, the personnel had to perform their eight-hour duty in their regular shoes, which was a huge disadvantage to them. A traffic constable near Hebbal told CE that gumboots would help his situation. “It is difficult to monitor vehicles in these shoes; the water seeps in and makes our socks wet. During monsoon, there are extra personnel on the road to prevent vehicular accidents on roads,” he explained.
However, not all traffic personnel will get their own shoes and some of them will have to share the boots based on their duty timings. For example, officials working during the second shift from 2pm to 11pm might have to wear the shoes worn by the officials who worked from 7 am to 2pm.
“We have ordered 300 shoes for East zone but some of the personnel are away for training. Once they come back, we will order another 1,000 pairs,” said Prashanth Siddanagoudar, ACP, traffic East. He added that currently they have ordered boots in sizes 8, 9 and 10 so that officials can use them without an issue with the size.
The initiative will help traffic personnel avoid spending money on new shoes since they often have to stand near potholes during the rains, which spoils their regular footwear.P Harishekaran, additional commissioner (traffic), said, “I will make sure the personnel get the boots soon. Every official will get a new pair before monsoon.”