Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Police look at modernising traffic management

V.S. Palaniappan

Rs. 30-crore proposal sent for funds from Central Government

Coimbatore: Violators of road-rules in the absence of a traffic constable can no longer go scot-free. Traffic signals in the city would soon be equipped with cameras connected to the control room. Personnel at the control room would be monitoring the screen on the look out for violators.

Prosecution notice would be mailed to the residential address of the violator, thanks to a proposal for modernising the traffic management system in the city.

A proposal to this effect seeking Rs. 30.08 crores has been sent to the Centre seeking funds under the Jawarhalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

A team of officers led by Commissioner of Police, Karan Singha, Deputy Commissioners of Police, T.S. Anbu (Law & Order) and S. Masilamani (Traffic) drafted this and has been forwarded to the Union Government through the State Government in February.

The Centre has mooted this mission for 200 cities across the country, which included Coimbatore, Madurai and Chennai.

Under this mission, as many as 13 traffic signals that handle a thick vehicular population would be fitted with these cameras. These cameras are also expected to help in identifying congested stretches to divert additional manpower and mobile vehicles for regulating traffic.

There is also a proposal to have vehicle activated traffic signals based on traffic pattern rather than pre-set timings. Depending on the number of vehicles, the signal will keep switching from one-road to the other thus reducing the ordeal of waiting for signal even when there is no vehicle on the opposite end.

Flyover construction

Another proposal has been made for improving the roads and construction of flyovers and underpasses in congested stretches to be executed by the city Corporation, a police official said. The police and Corporation have identified 18 places for foot over bridges to replace pedestrian crossings and some foot overbridges are likely to have a lift facility for the benefit of ailing persons and senior citizens.

The list of gadgets sought under the modernisation plans included speed radar guns, breath-analysers, reflective batons, sand filled portable barricades and road-dividers besides ambulance and mortuary vans, recovery vehicles for removing heavy and light vehicles for violation of parking rules.

The proposal included a traffic management centre in a sprawling 20,000 square feet for conducting awareness programmes for students, motorists and training sessions for officers besides a traffic park for school children. From the present practice of painting rubber road marks using the constabulary manpower at night after the traffic thins down, the police are planning to go in for mechanised painting gadgets.

New gadget

As part of the ongoing modernisation drive, Pump Action Gun that could spray rubber bullets on unruly mobs for crowd dispersal, one each has been given to the Coimbatore City and Coimbatore Rural District. The guns costing each Rs. 34,000 attached to the armoury of the Armed Reserve Police could spray rubber bullets up to a distance of 25 ft.

The same is aimed at reducing the gravity of the likely injury and to avoid causalities.

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