Appointment of new DCP raises hopes on traffic management

Appointment of a Deputy Commissioner of Police in the rank of a Superintendent of Police for Coimbatore City Police – Traffic Wing comes as a renewal of hope on improvising the traffic planning and management.

The post sought ever since 2005 and sanctioned in September 2011 has at last been filled. During the Conference of IAS and IPS officers in Chennai in 2011, the government sanctioned a separate post of DCP for traffic.

But, it continued to remain vacant. T. Senthilkumar, DCP was holding charge of Crime and Traffic till recently.

Only recently, Mr. Senthilkumar was posted as DCP (Law and Order) and the post of DCP (Crime and Traffic) was held by DCP, Headquarters, P. Saminathan.

On Wednesday, the government had posted Pravesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Kanyakumari district, as DCP (Traffic), Coimbatore City. P. Saminathan, DCP (Crime), Coimbatore City, has been posted as SP, Civil Supplies CID, Madurai. Additional Superintendent of Police (PEW), Madurai, Sugumar on promotion as SP has been posted as DCP (Crime). Superintendent of Police, Nagapattinam district, Ramar has been posted as DCP, Headquarters, Coimbatore City.

Already, T.N. Shankarasivam is holding the post of Armed Reserve, Coimbatore City. With this, all the five posts of DCPs in Coimbatore have been filled.

City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan said that hitherto officers who held additional charge of traffic were overstretched in terms of implementing the proposed reforms in terms of traffic planning and management, in addition to the laborious task of crime prevention, detection and recovery.

Not withstanding the same, a number of reforms were introduced in terms of new traffic pattern at the congested GP Theatre signal and Green Corridor on Avanashi Road while efforts were on for doing the same on Mettupalayam Road.

With the posting of an IPS officer in the rank of DCP exclusively for traffic, he said that there would be greater impetus in identifying the traffic bottlenecks in the city and in working out faster solutions for the same in close co-ordination with the local body, highways, Transport Department and TNSTC.