Published : Deccan Herald
Bangalore 360 Degrees zeroed in on Praveen Sood, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security), to ascertain his informed views on the traffic situation in Bangalore…
Here are excerpts:
DH: What is your perception of traffic in Bangalore?
PS: It’s definitely chaotic. Reason is simple: there are more vehicles. There are over 34 lakh vehicles in the City at present. Road and other infrastructure are inadequate to meet the requirement. The City roads can take the capacity of only 10 to 12 vehicles. Most roads and junctions have vehicles 4 to 5 times higher than their capacities during peak hours and 1.5 to 2 times higher during lean hours.
DH: What steps do you suggest?
PS: Awareness and education are key factors. Majority of the problems can be solved if road users follow traffic norms. Half of the total accident-related deaths are due to negligence. We should have as many grade separators as possible. The City requires at least 35 grade separators.
DH: Why is the number of vehicles increasing?
PS: There is no efficient public mass transport except BMTC. Even the BMTC buses are not comfortable which force people to depend on their personal vehicles.
DH: Have traffic police failed to manage the show?
PS: Our hands are tied. We are only implementing agency. We have to deal with 35 lakh vehicles, 65 lakh people and 40,000 intersections simultaneously. Besides, we should keep traffic moving and nab offenders. Last year, despite such odds, we booked cases against 15 lakh vehicle users.
DH: What about human resources in the traffic wing?
PS: There are only 2000 traffic cops including all ranks in City. We require at least 5000 more cops. There are hardly 170 signalised intersections and 400 manned junctions. We require at least 1000 manned signals.
DH: Is it true that there is no proper coordination between traffic police and bodies like BDA, BMTC, BBMP and KSRTC?
PS: It’s a myth. These agencies meet once every month to find solutions. These agencies have their own problems in completing the projects on time. It’s not the problems of coordination, but of execution.
DH: What about infrastructure?
PS: Overall requirement of infrastructure is much more. The traffic police cannot create infrastructure. Rites India, a Central government agency has submitted a Rs 47,000 crore Comprehensive Transport and Traffic Plan (CTTP) to the State government to improve situation in Bangalore. B Track, Metro project and other projects are a part of the project.
Author : Praveen Sood
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