For coordination, Delhi traffic cops join hands with civic bodies

The long-pending demand of the traffic police to work together with the civic agencies to improve the city’s traffic situation has finally become a reality.

The long-pending demand of the traffic police to work together with the civic agencies to improve the city’s traffic situation has finally become a reality.

Lieutenant governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung has asked for the constitution of a special task force comprising members of civic and road owning agencies that will be led by Anil Shukla, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

“The L-G has formed a task force to look after traffic-related issues and resolve them on a priority basis,” said Shukla. The task force would be functional within a month, sources claimed.

Each of the agencies — three municipal corporations of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Public Works Department, National Highway Authority of India and Delhi Development Authority — would nominate a nodal officer for the task force who will report to Shukla.

The members of the task force will meet twice a month. They will discuss the works in progress and apprise the L-G once a month about them, said an official.

“This comprehensive body was needed due to multiple agencies in the Capital. Each agency used to shrug responsibility and pass the buck, blaming other agencies,” said KK Kapila, chairman of the International Road Federation, who has been demanding for such a separate task force for long.

According to a senior traffic police officer, the setting up of this task force will help in resolving major traffic-related problems in the Capital, including identification of black spots, engineering faults, poor traffic lights, road marking, erecting signage, repairing damaged central verges, constructing speed breakers.

In April, the traffic police after a survey had identified as many as 66 damaged central verges that led to several accidents and slowed traffic. Traffic police had approached the road-owning agencies to repair these verges but to no avail.

In May, the cops had identified 79 killer roads through GIS mapping where accidents took place.