Techies to serve city as Traffic Marshals
The Bengaluru traffic police will now get technological help from software professionals in the city.
Around 150 techies will now join the force as “Traffic Marshals” a special unit being set up soon on the lines of Traffic Wardens. Besides helping the police run the show without any technical glitches, be it monitoring of enforcement cameras or software involved in running the entire traffic management system, Traffic Marshals will also assist the police in enforcement.
“Traffic Marshals will not be stationed at traffic junctions. They will create software and help us improve on the technology front. Close to 150 such code writers have approached the police through Praja.in, an NGO. Soon, they will be given badges and their role in policing will be defined,” said M.A. Saleem, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic). “These professionals have many ideas about improving traffic in the City and we are trying to channel their resources. This should help traffic management in the city. As we have planned to set up a traffic management centre, their help would be crucial,” he said.
The traffic police force in Bengaluru is around 2,900, while the requirement is close to 5,000. To manage the shortfall, the traffic department is planning to encourage enrollment of Traffic Wardens in the coming days. Now, around 500 traffic wardens are helping the traffic police manage traffic in many parts of the city. But most of these wardens are available only during weekends and for few hours. The police are now looking for more volunteers from different walks of society so that more men are available to manage traffic. “Many Traffic Wardens are also aging and we need more men to help us. We have decided to enhance the retirement age for Traffic Wardens to 65 from 62. We will also take up a major enrollment drive in June to attract more citizens to traffic management,” he said.
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