After being termed as the fifth model city of the province of Punjab, Rawalpindi, like other cities of the province, now has highly qualified and skilled city traffic wardens. After passing through the Elite forces training courses that include motorway and highway courses, the passion of the 985 young traffic wardens is appreciable.
These traffic wardens have been appreciably performing as observers at various city crossroads and have gathered the praise of numerous private and public transport drivers. The new traffic wardens have come with a new zeal and a lot of preparations.
Citizens and people from all walks of life have welcomed the appointment of the new traffic wardens.
The 985 traffic wardens include 33 lady traffic wardens. Another 230 traffic wardens would take charge of their responsibilities soon after completion of their training. In total, the traffic wardens are 1,307 in number, and they were recruited about a year-and-a-half ago. After Kalar Syedan was given the status of tehsil, the number of tehsils in Rawalpindi district reached five -- the other four are Gujar Khan, Taxila, Murree and Kahuta. With the increase in population, many a new town has sprung up. Even graveyards at many places have been occupied by the land mafia where illegal construction is underway. In spite of the unprecedented hike in petrol prices, the increase in the number of leased cars has added to traffic pressure in the city. In the competitive environment, the banks are trying to woo customers by offering reduced mark up rates. A large number of people from less privileged backgrounds now own a car. Political leader hailing from the city had vowed to make a Paris out of Rawalpindi by launching mass transit trains, but all this proved mere slogans. The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) failed to fulfill its basic responsibilities. Though the authority constructed Rawal Road at a cost of millions of rupees to reduce traffic burden on Murree Road, due to the technical faults in its design, the road became a centre of traffic accidents. So far, dozens of people have lost their lives in various traffic incidents on this road.
In the past, on the one hand, the banks were blamed for the traffic problems, while on the other, the traditional traffic police network was also flayed for being inefficient. Those given the task of clamping down on encroachers used to take their eyes off the encroachers after taking bribes. To add insult to injury, even the traffic police had no time to spare from VVIP duties. The CPO Rawalpindi also admitted that the Rawalpindi traffic police had been performing 389 VVIP duties annually on an average. He also stated that at the 525 points in the city, only 180 employees and officers performed duties day and night. The traffic police is also accused of taking bribes from the drivers of trucks entering and exiting the city as a matter of right. When asked what sort of offence the truckers had committed that they were let go after being stopped for a couple of minutes, the police personnel said they could not make ends meet within their meager salaries. ”We cannot manage our children's education, health and other household expenditures. We are helpless,” was the common reply. With the appointment of the new traffic wardens, there is a general impression that they will change the situation, but the traffic wardens have to face multiple challenges.
The representatives of the Rawalpindi public transport unions, Sultan Mehmood Awan and Raja Riaz, while welcoming the new traffic wardens, have expressed their reservations about the rate of challan. They are of the view that fines should be reduced and traffic stops be constructed on Murree and Liaquat roads. This will bind the wagon or Suzuki drivers to use the facility instead of stopping at will in the middle of the road. The Liaquat Bagh bus stop near the Moti Mahal Chowk is the only bus stop. After that, up to Faizabad or Raja Bazaar, there is no formal bus stop.
Malik Sultan Mehmood Awan and Raja Riaz said they would cooperate with the city traffic police. A formal function was held at the police lines Rawalpindi where the special ceremony of handing over the charge of traffic police to the new traffic wardens was held. The CPO Rawalpindi DIG Rao Muhammad Iqbal, attended the meeting as the chief guest. The function was attended among other by Chief Traffic Police Officer Dr Usman Anwar, SSP Operations Rawalpindi Yaseen Farooq, SP Traffic Malik Matloob, SP Rawal Town Khurram Warriach, DSP Traffic Headquarters Syed Abid Abbas Shah, and representatives of transport union Malik Sultan Mehmood Awan, Chairman Suzuki Union Raja Riaz, relatives of the wardens, and President central Traders Union Malik Shahid Ghafoor Paracha.
DIG Rao Muhammad Iqbal formally started the function by handing over the challan books to the wardens. He observed the parade with the parade commander Ali. Later, the wardens held a march past. In his address, Rao Muhammad Iqbal said with the introduction of the new traffic warden system, there would be a marked change in the culture of traffic police. He urged the traffic wardens to maintain traffic discipline and play their role in creating traffic awareness among the citizens. He said along with better privileges, the traffic wardens were also being provided accommodation. He said to improve facilities for the people on the roads, infrastructure would be improved with consultation of other departments.
He directed the chief traffic police officer, Dr Usman Anwar, to get the global positioning system installed in their vehicles and also form a committee comprising public representatives and representatives of the media and the traffic police. The committee would hold regular meetings and forward its suggestions to the DIG.
The DIG said the licensing system should be centralized at the provincial level. The CPO, while announcing allocation of two floors in the newly-constructed building of the police lines, said a canteen would also be constructed for the wardens in addition to a welfare hospital.
Chief traffic police officer SP Dr Usman Anwar said the cantonemnt board, Rawal Town administration and RDA could play an effective role in the widening of roads, improvement of traffic signals and alleviating traffic problems through an effective strategy.
He said the old traffic staff, in spite of long duty hours, performed well. On December 25, 2003, sub inspector Sher Usman and constable Muhammad Siddique lost their lives when a suicide attempt was made on President Musharraf.
Ladies Platoon Commander Afeefa Shumaila, at the end of the meeting, said women were progressing in every field of life be it air force, army or police. She said she had joined traffic police to serve the country.
Here it is important to mention that there are more than 6,500 auto rickshaws, ching chi rickshaws, more than 3,000 pick-ups, more than 3,500 mini buses, hiace wagons and more than a thousand taxis plying on city roads. Traffic wardens have a huge challenge in front of them but they have all the energy to meet the expectations.