BENGALURU: More than 100 police chowkis and major junctions in Bengaluru will soon be upgraded as the long-awaited project benefiting cops with basic needs such as an air purifier, shed, electrical appliances and public address systems with mics, will be implemented. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) has finally handed over the tender to Signpost, the company which will undertake the task of procuring and installing these components at all the major traffic junctions across the city.
Earlier this year, the traffic police department and BBMP decided to address the health concerns of traffic officials in the city. The BBMP proposed that more than 500 junctions in the city will be converted into pollution free zones and the age old police chowkis will be renovated and equipped with basic necessities for on-duty personnel.
On conducting a survey, City Express interacted with over 60 traffic officials who were on duty. Speaking to us, an official who wished to be anonymous, said, “We have to bear the heat and smoke from vehicles. Also, we have nowhere to head to answer a nature’s call. We still await an upgradation of our chowki.”
Another traffic official from Whitefield recalled how one of his colleagues fainted while he was on duty at a junction. “It was in the month of April and he could not eat his food. He could not even take a break to have some water. He fainted, and we had raised this issue with our department, and had requested them for a public address system in place.”
A traffic official from Corporation Circle added, “This particular junction is busy almost all times of the week. We need a mic in place along with a shed and a rest room. There are times when five to six officials have had to handle the traffic flow. Even with these many officials, it is hard to trace the violator. A public address system on the spot will serve our purpose and we won’t have to rush to the middle of the street everytime.”
The project awaits approval from the government
Additional Traffic Commissioner P Harishekaharan said, “More than 100 spots have been selected for fitting umbrellas, electrical fittings such as fans and lights, and public address systems. This is under consideration by the BBMP.” While this project has advanced from the stage of proposal to handing over the tender, it awaits an approval from the state government. Speaking to CE, Traffic Engineering Cell’s (TEC) Chief Engineer for road infrastructure, Somshekhar said, “The project to upgrade all the chowkis and junctions in the city has already received approval of the BBMP council. A letter with details of the project has been sent to the state government. We are now waiting for an approval.”He added, “Once approved, the upgradation work will commence in two phases.” However, Somshekhar could not reveal the details about the estimated budget for the project.