Rain brings cheer; more work for tra c police
The arrival of rains in the city brought relief from the scorching heat for everyone but doubled the work of tra c policemen since Monday.
With inundation being reported on many major roads, yovers, and underpasses across the city with every downpour, tra c police are risking their lives to facilitate vehicular movement.
Two policemen attached to R.T. Nagar tra c station escaped with minor injuries while clearing an uprooted tree during the rain when desperate motorcycle riders knocked them down in a bid to pass through the blocked roads on Wednesday.
“We are not trained for this job, but we have to do it to ensure free ow of tra c and ensure no tra c jams on the road,” said a police o cer who was clearing a tree that had fallen on the busy R.T. Nagar road.
After repeated attempts to call the civic agency, the tra c police had to rope in heavy construction equipment to clear the tree.
The tra c police personnel ae also equipped with basic tools to clear obstacles. “We used lathis to clear the clogged drains and plastic tubs to ll the potholes,” a police personnel said.
On Thursday too, following rain accompanied by gusty winds, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike received complaints of 70 tree falls and 171 branch falls.
Motorists faced inconvenience due to ooding of roads in several areas.
“This is majorly due to clogged drainage and felling of trees due to road widening projects which have weakened the roots. Though it is not part of the tra c police’s job to clear clogged drains and uprooted trees, the police have to do it to ensure the smooth ow of tra c. We make sure that tra c is cleared on the road and normal before signing o, no matter how long it will take,” a tra c police said.
Though there is a disaster management cell to look after these issues, road users have high expectations from the tra c police in emergency situations like these, the o cer added.
According to the tra c police advisory, ooding has been reported at 90 locations and tree falls at 120 locations across the city since Monday. The tra c policemen are working extra hours to ensure the safety of road users, a senior police o cer monitoring tra c control room said.