Police to pay special attention to CBD junctions

Traffic snarls and violation of rules have become the norm, and hence it will have policemen round the clock: Bhaskar Rao

The Bengaluru Traffic Police on Thursday said that special attention will be given to junctions at Central Business District, where traffic snarls and motorists violating road rules, have become the norm.

“All junctions coming under CBD areas will have policemen round the clock,” said City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao at a press conference here.

The police have also identified 12 high-density corridors across the city, including congestion points at Sarjapur Road, Electronics City, Bannerghatta Road, among others.

To tackle this effectively, the Traffic Department is going to designate one officer, of the rank of Inspector, to manage vehicular flow, enforce zero tolerance for violations and no-parking zones.

The aim of this exercise is to decrease congestion and increase the speed limit while keeping in mind the rights of pedestrians.

Illegal parking

The traffic police have also been instructed to identify vehicles, slap fines, and book owners caught flouting parking norms.

The traffic police are also holding meetings with schools in residential areas where buses and cars parked outside cause congestion.

“We are in talks with managements of various schools. While some have implemented our suggestions to park within the campus, others are yet to follow them. We will take strict action against them. CBD areas are not meant for parking vehicles,” he said.

Menace of heavy vehicles

Heavy vehicles plying on a one-way road and on busy narrow roads are another cause for congestion. Drivers are often involved in accidents owing to their rash and negligent driving, said Mr. Rao.

The city police are now contemplating booking drivers who are involved in fatal accidents under Section 304 (culpable homicide) and Section 307 ( attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Currently, they are booked under Section 304 A (death due to negligence). The police will putting up more gantries at major roads to prevent the entry of heavy vehicles

“A study conducted by the traffic police revealed that a 10-second stop by any vehicle on busy roads leads to a huge traffic pile-up of at least 150 vehicles. Motorists haphazardly stop the vehicle to argue on the road over trivial rows leading to traffic jams. This offence will be dealt with strictly hereafter,” said the Commissioner.

More wardens

According to Mr. Rao, the city has around 44,000 junctions, of which only a quarter of them are controlled by the traffic police.

This is due to shortage of manpower as the department has around 4,000 personnel policemen to manage the city’s traffic, said the Commissioner.

Currently, there are around 390 traffic wardens volunteers to assist the police, and there are plans to enroll another 2,500 more.