CHENNAI: I work for 12 hours a day. Being an entrepreneur, I have the liberty to decide when I want to attend meetings and how I want to complete my work. So I sneak out for two hours a day to don my khaki uniform and serve the public. I do everything from managing traffic in busy junctions to teaching Road Safety Patrol to school kids. It does get hectic, but at the end of the day, it is extremely satisfactory. The fact that I am helping the public helps me sleep peacefully,” said Ramakrishnan from T Nagar, an entrepreneur by profession and a traffic warden by passion.
Traffic wardens are people from all walks of life including teachers, artists, engineers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, etc. But, in the last three years, only 53 people have been appointed as traffic wardens in the city and there are only about 40 wardens who are active in the field. Though the Tamil Nadu state Traffic Warden initiative, a non-profit and non-incentive programme to involve public in various enforcement and regulatory activities along with the traffic police, has been functioning systematically since 1995, most people are still unaware about the post.
Pressure and politics
The authorities of Tamil Nadu Police Traffic Warden Organisation (TPTWO) say that it could be due to lack of participation by the parent department (Chennai Traffic Police), but traffic wardens allege it is because of internal politics and lack of appreciation for their service.“Only 40 wardens among the 200 are active. For a city like Chennai, we will need at least 500 hands and commitment from people is of prime importance,” says Azeem Ahmed, deputy chief traffic warden.Chief traffic warden Harish Mehta says that they witness a lot of dropouts every year because of the pressure of responsibilities. “A lot of them who are unable to balance their work, life and this post, give up. Also, there is a lack of awareness because the only way people get to know about the post is through word of mouth from existing traffic wardens.”
Civic responsibility
The primary duties of a traffic warden include Road Safety Patrol in school where children are taught road safety rules and trained at junctions outside their school, road duty once a week where the wardens control traffic at busy junctions including Mylapore, T Nagar, Mount Road, Anna Nagar, Ega Junction, Central station and Adyar, and weekly parade and participation in awareness programmes. The khaki uniforms of the traffic wardens have stripes on their epaulettes instead of stars.
Over the years, the response from the department has been plummeting. “When I joined in 1999, the response was amazing and everybody respected me. We were the friendly face of the police. The parent department gave constant feedback,” said Mereen Vijay, the first female traffic warden in the city.
However, another warden on condition of anonymity said, “We not only do the service for free, we also pay an annual fee of `2,500 for the post. The organisation does not bother about who comes to duty and who does not. Only if there is some appreciation, will we feel like doing the work. When posted on night duty to nab the drunk and drive, the police hate us because they cannot take bribe. There is also so much internal politics.”
Lack of recognition
Numerous traffic wardens CE contacted concurred and said they are seldom recognised by the department. Also, many who discontinued due to personal reasons could not rejoin because of lack of response from TPTWO, they allege.A senior official from the Chennai City Traffic Police department said, “Our department has 4,000 personnel and wardens assist them occasionally. There are people willing to join, but we restrict. In another city, traffic wardens have started operating independently after hundreds of them were appointed. When we give somebody power, we don’t want it to be misused. So far, the scene in Chennai is systematic and we want it that way.”