Giving a fillip to the police’s efforts to regulate traffic in the city, seven more citizens have joined the traffic warden squad. With this, the total number of personnel in the squad has touched 36.
The seven personnel joined the squad on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the formation of the squad. The squad aims to involve people in traffic management.
The squad was started by the former Police Commissioner S. Murugan last year with 95-year-old Joe Gonsalves as the chief traffic warden.
Along with Mr. Gonsalves, three others too had joined the squad. As many as 21 students from different colleges in the city joined the squad a few weeks after the formation of the squad. Mr. Gonsalves and others have been assisting the police in regularising traffic at important junctions like Hampankatta, Kankanady, Bendoorwell and Nantoor junctions. Naina Fernandes, Mary Pereira, Sujith Noronha, James Martha, J. Mohammed, Maxim Moris and Shivaraya Nayak, who joined on Sunday, will be on duty everyday.
Speaking on the occasion, Police Commissioner M. Chandrashekar said this squad should not be considered just an exercise of the police to get some working hands as against the vacant posts. This squad, he said, showcases that citizens in Mangaluru are responsible and they can take care of themselves.
Doctor and writer B.M Hegde expressed the need of having two traffic wardens outside each educational institution located off the main roads in the city. Mr. Gonsalves, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) M. Sanjeev Patil and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) K. Tilakchandra also spoke.
