KOCHI: Amid the public debate over adopting advanced technologies, Kochi City police are struggling to manage traffic congestion in the city following a Kerala High Court directive requiring officers to manually regulate vehicular movement during peak hours.
The August 27 ruling, issued against the backdrop of traffic hold-ups in the run-up to Onam, has forced personnel, especially at key intersections along Banerji Road, to position themselves on roads to manage traffic flow.
“After evolving from manual traffic control and cabin-based management, we now rely on automated signals. Yet, this directive to manually regulate peak-hour traffic feels like a step back 30-35 years. How can such unscientific methods be justified?” a source with Kochi City police said, on condition of anonymity.
“A traffic signal is visible to drivers even several rows back, allowing vehicles to move accordingly. In contrast, a person of average height standing in the middle of the road is often hidden from the view of drivers who are not in the front rows. Poor lighting at junctions at night further increases the risk of accidents,” he said.
He added that a sub-inspector with the Kochi City traffic west enforcement unit, who was on duty near Pallimukku junction on September 8, was hit by a rider at night — an example of the dangers posed by manual traffic control.
A sub-inspector with the same unit said that almost all junctions in the city lack traffic islands, which poses a major problem for personnel managing vehicles.
“Due to lack of traffic islands, officers are forced to stand on the road to direct traffic, and poor lighting makes the situation even more hazardous. Dangerous free-left turns, vehicles running red lights, and stopping beyond the yellow lines all contribute to a higher risk of accidents and casualties,” he added.
Commenting on the challenges of manually regulating traffic, Sagar M P, station house officer of the traffic east unit, said, “At Vyttila and Edappally junctions, we are manually regulating signals due to the traffic. At Vyttila alone, four-five personnel are on duty from 8 am to 11 pm, managing signals. Despite the scorching sun and heavy rains, they are doing their best.”
Meanwhile, traffic west ACP Muhammed Nisar said that the court directive has been amended, and traffic signals have been restored to automated mode over the past two days.
“The earlier order required personnel to manually control traffic during peak hours, from 8.30–10 am and 5–7.30 pm, with signals turned off. We filed an interlocutory application (IA) highlighting technical issues, and the court amended the directive accordingly,” he said.
However, personnel from various traffic enforcement units reported that they had not received any official intimation and are still manually managing traffic during peak hours.