Published On : Sat, May 23rd, 2015

Are traffic booths a haven for illegal activities or a shelter for homeless?

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Complaint lodged with NMC to repair broken or dilapidated Traffic Booths, but no response so far: DCP Tangde

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Nagpur: As the roads were widened and the vehicle users on the rise every-day, the local government saw it fit for traffic police booths to set-up at every square. The traffic policemen use this place to write the challan, impound driving license of traffic rules violators etc.

This Traffic Police Booth also served to protect the traffic cops from the sun and the rain. When they were new, they were used well. However lack of maintenance made the Traffic Booth of an ornament value which stands with the shutters closed.

Often these Traffic Booths are used by small time offenders to hide stolen goods. The homeless often use this for spending their nights protected from rains, heat or cold.

Except for a few square, most of the Traffic Booths are unmaintained and lay neglected. Some are so neglected that they are often used by un-civilized people for urinating.

One such Traffic Booth situated in Baidhyanath Square on Great Nag Road or Ghat Road is used by a beggar-woman to stow away some of the begging and alms she has collected. She also uses the place to store her cloths and meager belongings.

Nagpur Today spoke to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Bharat Tangde about the abandoned Traffic Booths. He pointed out some very valid lacuna of the traffic booths. According to him, which is logical, the Traffic Booths are made of metal sheets. With Nagpur city’s temperatures soaring to 47 degrees celcius, how can anyone expect the Traffic Policemen to stand or man the Traffic Booth. To add to that he claimed that the Traffic Booths are so small that one Traffic Policeman cannot stand comfortably in it. There is no power supply in the booths, therefore no fans or lights which can help the cops to function well. He claimed that there was a proposal to make a traffic booth with a fibre-glass or plastic which does not get hot. The new proposed booth is big enough for two or three cops to stand and perform their role. There will be lighting and fans so that they do not have to bear the onslaught of the sun or rain.

When asked who is responsible for the maintenance of the Traffic Booth, he replied that it is the Nagpur Municipal Corporation who are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the booths. The office of the Traffic Department of Nagpur Police has already given a complaint and a request to repair these Traffic Booths at 64 locations in Nagpur city. So far the repair work has not been commenced.

Pictures by Vinay Thorat