The citys residents can now tune into the local FM stations of the city to know all about which road of Chandigarh is busy and should be avoided. The UT Traffic Police has recently tied up with the local radio stations of the city in order to give a traffic update,specifically at peak traffic hours of the day. These FM updates are a substitute for the SMS traffic alert service,which was rendered dysfunctional a few months ago. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic,Maneesh Chaudhary said,The SMS has been stopped as we did not have enough budget for it. After the TRAI (Telephone Regulatory Authority of India) changed their guidelines for sending bulk messages,the cost for sending the alert was too high and due to financial constraints,the service had to be stopped, SSP Chaudhary further said. To compensate for the defunct SMS service,the UT Traffic Police then approached the local FM stations to give traffic updates along with the music. We have recently tied up with both the FM stations in the city. While the updates on one station have already started,we have to make certain arrangements to start the updates on the other station as well. The arrangements for the same are in the pipeline, SSP said. Chaudhary added that along with the traffic updates,the FM stations will also be playing an advertisement campaign on safe driving. People usually listen to FM stations while driving. So it is best to give an update through FM stations. A constable on the traffic helpline 1073 has been deputed to call the FM stations to talk about which road is busy, he further said. One of the residents,Anmol Lal said,I have heard the FM traffic alerts twice. These alerts are helpful especially for people like me who have to take the busy roads often. These updates have helped me in reaching the destination well in time without getting stuck in a traffic jam.
