‘Speed guns, staff needed to man bridge’

Following the accident on the Bandra-Worli sea link (BWSL) that left a policeman injured, questions are again being raised if the necessary precautions are being taken to ensure that incidents of speeding are curbed on theBWSL.

Following the accident on the Bandra-Worli sea link (BWSL) that left a policeman injured, questions are again being raised if the necessary precautions are being taken to ensure that incidents of speeding are curbed on theBWSL.

HT Image

Questions regarding safety had been raised after several accidents took place on the sea link soon after it had opened for public in June 2009.

A senior traffic official requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media told Hindustan Times, “There are several measures in place to ensure that vehicles don’t speed on the sea link. Some accident-prone spots have been earmarked where there is extra police presence.”

The officer said they had made use of technology like using cat’s eye markers on the road. He, however, admitted that they need advanced technology.

“We require a setup wherein speed guns can be placed at the entry points of the sea link. These guns are linked to automatic cameras that would notify the driver about the penalty by the time he reached the end the end of the bridge.

“In the absence of such technology, we are doing the best with the staff allotted to us,” he said, adding “To keep a tab on vehicles we need strong presence, something that we don’t have.”

Interview Nisar Tamboli, Mumbai police spokesperson

Recently there have been cases wherein policemen deployed for nakabandis have been injured while trying to halt speeding vehicles.

While those were unfortunate incidents, there is no specific reason behind that. We just have to take it as a professional hazard.

Now that such cases are happening regularly, will there be a plan chalked out by the police administration to avoid them?
Of course, we will have to think about something to stop this trend. The steps could include positioning our men differently from how they are traditionally positioned during nakabandis.

Will you make the punishment more stringent to act as a deterrent?
No, that is not be possible as there already are specific legal provisions pertaining to accidents. We have to follow the laws that have been laid down. We have been asking our men to be careful to ensure that such incidents do no take place.