The right way

Routine: Singh is in charge of manning a stretch of the CWG lane near Rajghat Chowk. Up at 6 a.m.,he rides down from Shakarpur in east Delhi. He is on the road all day,stopping vehicles that cross into the no-go CWG lane and issuing challans to the violators. Usually winds up by 8 p.m. but these days,he has no fixed work hours.

A shrill whistle and the traffic violator,a white Santro car,slows down. Do you not know the rules, asks Bijender Singh,a traffic policeman who is manning a stretch of the Commonwealth Games lane on Mahatma Gandhi Marg near Rajghat Chowk in central Delhi. Ahead of the Games that the city is hosting,lanes have been marked specially for athletes and dignitaries and are no-go zones for other vehicles. Straying into these lanes can be tempting.

But Singh,an assistant sub inspector,decides there is a price to pay for such transgressions. The driver of the Santro apologises but gets a challan anyway. There are a few other cars behind the Santro on the Games lane. But fortunately for them,the light turns green and they swerve on to the authorised lanes and drive away.

This morning I issued challans to two people for violating the CWG rule. The fine for crossing into this lane is Rs 2,000, says Singh,looking unassuming in his white shirt and blue trousers,a wireless in one hand and a small microphone in the other.

Singh,47,joined as a constable in the Delhi Police in 2003. Three years later,after he was promoted as head constable,he joined the traffic police as an assistant sub inspector. Singhs parents wanted him to be an engineer and got him to enroll in a polytechnic college in Khurja,20 km from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. But he dropped out midway and joined the police. It was my dream to be a part of the police force, says a beaming Singh.

His children have dreams of their own,though. His eldest daughter Deepa is preparing for her chartered accountancy exams. Priya,19,wants to be a teacher. The youngest of his three children,Manujendra,has passed his class 12 examination. I want him to enter the police force says Singh.

His day begins at 6 a.m. when he reports at Rajghat Chowk,where he has been stationed for the last year and a half. I live in Shakarpur near Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi, says Singh. At 2 in the afternoon,he breaks for lunch. Some of the constables on duty take a lunch break too,at the chowki nearby. My wife Satpali has paranthas for me, he says peering into his box.

Back at work,he says he wont compromise on a few basic ethics. Two years ago,I stopped the son of a DIG of the paramilitary forces on the main road because he was using a cellphone while driving. He had to pay a fine of Rs 1,500, he says. The young man,in his 20s,worked his phone and asked him to speak to his father. But Singh issued a challan anyway.

Singh,though,concedes he sometimes lets senior citizens,women and,strangely,doctors get away. I know they wont default on purpose, he says.

As a traffic policeman,Singh does not always have the luxury of a fixed routine. On routine days,he finishes by 8 p.m. but now with the Games duty,Singh cant think of going home early. My colleagues and I wait till the last car picks and drops the delegates.