Keeping Delhi on the move

Inspector Dikshit is the in-charge of all activity at the Traffic Control Room,which functions from a cramped room on the twenty-first floor of Vikas Minar,ITO.

On a typical day,Dikshit and his men are on the “hot seat”,coordinating traffic movement across Delhi. If any of the 725 traffic lights stop working,or if there is a jam,the 22 officers there,each in-charge of an area,contact their field officers.

“The work station is divided into 22 nets — each constitutes areas or traffic movement of a certain kind. For instance,the officer in-charge of the VIP net monitors all VIP movements on a particular day,” said Inspector Dikshit.

The joint commissioner of police and his staff also monitor all traffic movement through their surveillance systems.

The sub-station at Teen Murti Marg provides information on traffic jams. Area Traffic Control signals,supposed to be technically advanced,are also being used at 46 intersections across the city.

The ATCs detect traffic volume and provide the feedback to a central computer at the Teen Murti traffic sub-station. Accordingly,the software sets the timing for the whole signal network. As soon as a complaint is received,the officer monitoring the particular net informs his field officer,who in turn informs the traffic constable.

On the ground,the constable looks into the cause of the complaint. In case additional staff is required in instances like removal of a fallen branch or a broken down vehicle,help is deployed immediately.

“The density of vehicular traffic at any time is so high that within the little time taken by our staff to reach the problem spot,a jam occurs,” said inspector Dikshit. The control room has 40 traffic inspectors working in shifts. It has six vehicles and a reserve of additional staff for emergencies.

Each officer in the control room works for 18 hours a day,divided into three shifts of six hours.

“Our work timings are erratic and when it rains or a tragedy occurs,we are expected to be available,” said an officer. “We keep an extra set of uniforms and plainclothes in the control room itself.”

On an average day,the control room receives around 20 complaints of traffic jams. “The complaints on rainy days are countless,” Dikshit said. “In case rains are predicted,we approach civic bodies to deploy suction pumps as a precaution.”

But no precaution seems to be able to stand up to the might of traffic from areas like East Delhi,especially the traffic coming via ITO,or the stretch along the BRT corridor.

“Whenever a signal fails or a jam occurs,six of us control traffic. Since traffic flow is high and the road narrow,jams are bound to happen,” the constable said.

The traffic police had invited bids for traffic lights on August 28,but no decision has been taken yet.

Who keeps traffic lights glowing?

Currently,all 725 traffic lights and 435 blinkers in the Capital are being maintained by two private firms,CMS and Keltron. As per their contract with the Delhi Traffic Police,all minor repairs have to be done the same day. For instance,in case of a bulb fuse,the firms have to change it within four hours and they are given 12 hours to replace a cantilever pole. While the CMS maintains signals in South,Southwest,Central,and New Delhi areas,Keltron is in charge of Northeast,East,North,and Northwest Delhi. Each firm has one van for each district. In May,the Traffic Police had pulled up the two firms for inefficiency. According to their pact with the Traffic Police,the firms can even be penalised in case of failure to repair signals on time.

Till the late 1980s,the transport department maintained all city traffic lights before the Traffic Police took over and outsourced the job — first to Keltron,a PSU,and then to CMS.

–ENS