Since our childhood, almost all of us have witnessed a man clad in white trousers and shirt whistling in the middle of the road hinting vehicles to stop or keep moving . Yes, these individuals are termed ‘traffic cops’. The core reason for selecting white uniform for traffic police particularly links to the fact that white colour is most visible at night and decades back there was no proper street light system on the city roads.
The cop gestures and whistles in order to manage traffic on roads, helping us move smoothly even on busy city inter-sections with heavy traffic.. Nature of job for traffic cops is extremely tough as we often find them standing erect on the spot despite climate changes. Whether there are severe spells of heat waves, freezing cold, torrential rains and above all noise and air pollution all fail to shake his devotion and commitment towards work. Many of them contract respiratory, heart and skin diseases in the line of duty as the city’s air is polluted with high level of lead and cadmium even more than Beijing and New Delhi.
Many would be surprised to know that traffic policemen do not join the force on their own will. In fact, they first get appointed in the Sindh Police Department and are later transferred mostly against their wish to the traffic section.
Unfortunately, over the past few months, traffic cops have been on list of target killers. Though some security measures have taken but they are not enough as only 600 cops are provided with weapons out of around 1200 policemen performing duties on roads. Also, only 300 police commandoes have been deputed to protect on duty traffic cops, which has not served the purpose as killings continue in the city.
Security of a person who stands in the middle of road whole day has never been an easy task. It needs some serious measures. The Sindh government seems least interested in the security of traffic cops as we can see that they are not properly armed with with weapons and bullet-proof vests.
The government should immediately provide Rangers’ security to the on-duty traffic cops. Also, gun training courses should be arranged for them like the one initiated for teachers in KP after the Peshawar school attack.
Also, the existing inhumane conditions under which the traffic cops work should be improved. On-duty cops should be given facilities as related to their health. For sake of protection, provision of umbrellas, energy drinks, cold drinking water and sunglasses during summers will ultimately result in better performance.
Blog by: Maqsood Bhatti
Source: Saama
