Pramesh S Jain
Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority has written to the Director General and Inspector General of Police, seeking immediate repair and renewal of the Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC) for traffic signal systems in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
In his letter dated September 25,Danappa said traffic signals at several important junctions in Bengaluru and Mysuru had reportedly not been functioning properly for several months due to inadequate maintenance,forcing traffic police personnel to manually regulate traffic for nearly eight hours every day.
He said traffic personnel were being exposed to prolonged periods of heat,rain,dust and vehicular emissions while performing manual traffic regulation duties from morning to evening.
According to the letter,several personnel were experiencing health problems,including eye irritation, lack of sleep and physical and mental stress.
Since they were unable to leave their assigned points, they were also facing difficulties in accessing toilets, drinking water and adequate rest facilities.
Danappa said some traffic police personnel were reportedly unable to cope with the conditions and were remaining absent from duty.
He expressed concern that instead of technically rectifying the signal systems through timely renewal of AMCs,the burden was being placed on traffic personnel by deploying them for prolonged manual regulation.
He urged the DGP-IGP to take immediate steps to renew or rectify the AMC and maintenance systems for traffic signals in Bengaluru and Mysuru and reduce the workload and health risks faced by traffic personnel.
He also sought necessary measures to ensure that all traffic signal lights installed across the state function automatically and properly through effective maintenance mechanisms.
Mr.Danappa requested the police headquarters to inform the Police Complaints Authority about the action taken.
