Pramesh S Jain
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday directed Bengaluru Traffic Police to prioritise technology-driven solutions to effectively tackle the city’s growing traffic congestion and provide safer,smoother mobility for commuters.
Chairing a meeting with all Deputy Commissioners of Police (Traffic),the minister said Bengaluru’s rapidly increasing vehicle population requires scientific and technology-based traffic management,particularly at major junctions and high-density corridors.
Kharge said Bengaluru has emerged as a global city, attracting leading IT companies,multinational corporations and investors,making it essential to build a world-class traffic management system.
He instructed officials to prepare an action plan for wider implementation of Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS),Artificial Intelligence (AI),smart traffic signals,real-time traffic monitoring and data-driven traffic management measures across congestion-prone roads.
The minister also stressed the need to identify accident hotspots,strictly enforce traffic rules,prioritise emergency service vehicles,improve pedestrian safety and ensure commuter convenience while planning traffic interventions.
Emphasising that traffic management is not the sole responsibility of the police,Kharge called for greater coordination with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP),Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL),Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC),the Urban Development Department and other stakeholder agencies to implement long-term solutions.
During the meeting,DCPs of all traffic divisions briefed the minister on traffic conditions in their respective jurisdictions,major congestion points,measures already taken and future action plans.
Officials also discussed strategies to strengthen Bengaluru’s traffic management through modern technology,infrastructure development and inter-departmental coordination.
The meeting was attended by Director General and Inspector General of Police (DGP & IGP),Dr M.A.Saleem, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner,Seemant Kumar Singh,Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic)Karthik Reddy,Home Minister’s Special Officer Labhu Ram,and other senior officials.
