Six women cops to manage traffic at key intersections in Gurugram

Police said this initiative will also help in avoiding arguments between motorists and traffic police as many women refuse to deal with male cops

Gurugram: The Gurugram traffic police have deployed six women constables at six major intersections starting Tuesday. Police said the initiative was taken after several complaints were received against women violating traffic rules and creating ruckus when penalised.

Police said deployment of women police personnel will help in interacting with women commuters. (HT Photo)

Police said deployment of women police personnel will also help in interacting with women commuters. They are also being given communication skills training as this will be their first experience interacting with violators. Currently, the women officers of the traffic wing work as clerical staff at challan branches and traffic offices.

Presently, there are 1,100 traffic personnel deployed in the city.

Virender Vij, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said that they had carried out a survey of major intersections in the city and found that majority of women drive on stretches close to commercial buildings. “When we checked our data, we found that maximum violations by women drivers were reported from Subhash Chowk, Z Chowk near HUDA City Centre, Bristol Chowk, Genpact Chowk, Shankar Chowk and Agrawal Chowk. We have deployed them at these locations to catch the violators and issue them challans,” said Vij.

Police said one of the major challenges was drunken driving by women. They would refuse breathalyser tests as these would be conducted by male policemen, they added.

Vij said this initiative will also help in avoiding arguments between motorists and traffic police as many women refuse to deal with male cops. “After coming across a number of complaints regarding traffic signal violations, over-speeding and misbehaviour with traffic policemen, we decided to deploy women staff,” he said.

Officers said after they receive positive response from these locations, they plan to deploy more women constables on other key locations such as Golf Course Road, National Highway (NH-48), Sohna Road and MG Road.

DCP Vij said one woman constable is deployed at each intersection for a shift of eight hours. “This is an experimental exercise. Once we receive good results, we will extend it to other locations. Presently we only have six women constables and will demand more as per the requirements,” he said.