Don’t talk on cellphone on duty,women traffic cops told

A few days ago,a policewoman was suspended for talking on the phone while managing traffic at the Lodhi Road junction.

“We have issued a directive that if any policewoman is found talking on phone she will be suspended and removed from duty,” said Garg.

There 474 women on traffic duty and most are posted at key junctions in the city. Vijay Chowk,the intersection near Parliament,is solely managed by women personnel.

The decision to depute women on traffic duty was taken last year,in run-up to the Commonwealth Games.

According to officials,women have been found more efficient at managing traffic and it would have been too harsh to remove them entirely. The force,therefore,decided to issue the warning.

“They are deployed at several key traffic intersections in Lutyens’ Delhi and South Delhi. Their contribution has been significant and they have proved to be good at their work,barring stray incidents,” said Garg.

Commissioner of Police B K Gupta too had brought up the issue after he noted traffic policewomen talking on the phone at several vital intersections.

“It (talking on phone) certainly deflects attention when you are managing traffic. It can prove lethal for commuters also. During peak hours,the traffic management requires full attention. To ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future,we have taken this decision,” said Garg.