Following the massive traffic jam that left hundreds stranded on the roads for hours in the Millennium City on Thursday due to the unannounced sealing of Delhi-Gurugram border by the Delhi Police, the Facebook post of Gurugram Police expressing “regret” won many hearts with the people appreciating the efforts of the local police. A few, however, complained about the delay in dissemination of information about the traffic restrictions.
After the locals had a tough day dealing with the traffic chaos on the roads — with many having missed their flights and meetings and others walking miles to their destinations — the Gurugram Traffic Police in a Facebook post late on Thursday night expressed deep regret for the inconvenience and explained that there was little time for them to plan and issue alerts since the Delhi Police informed them at 8.05 a.m. regarding the sealing of the borders.
The post said that “though our teams worked tirelessly throughout the day to clear the traffic, yet precious time of commuters was lost in the transit”. It added that the police would constantly strive to improve itself and learn from the experiences.
The post received 280 reactions, was shared 39 times and got 59 comments, with everyone praising the efforts of the police.
Twitter responses
“Well done Gurugram Traffic Police. We do understand the situation you guys are going on. Salute to you for quick response. We are really feeling in safe hands :) [sic],” said Sharad Chandra, in a reply to the post.
Another resident Mohit Khetarpal wrote: “Gurugram police rocks..!! Doing great job...jai hind..!!! We are always with you and supporting you. [sic].”
“Every one is saying good work. But inconvenience was there an apology not accepted. Very late informed [sic],” said Ankit Sharma, in a tweet, responding to the police’s message on its official Twitter handle.
Ajit Chhokar, another resident, tweeted: “In future, if something like this happens please update on google maps and fm radio. Also tell traffic officials to update commuters so they can take u-turns. [sic]”
2-hour delay
In fact, the Gurugram Police took around two hours to share the information about the highway blockade on its Twitter handle and on Facebook after the Delhi Police informed it. The first tweet from Gurugram Police on Gurugram-Delhi Highway jam came around 10 a.m. and the second tweet about the sealing of borders at 11.30 a.m, almost three-and-a-half hours after Delhi Police informed them about its plans.
DCP, Traffic, Himanshu Garg explained that the alert was issued when it was felt that it was going to be a major congestion, till then efforts were made to contact Delhi Police and understand their plan. “The first step in such situations is to alert all police units, then police teams are rushed to the spot for feedback. It is only after the information is received from all quarters that the steps are planned and the advisories are framed,” said Mr. Garg.
Former Additional Director General of Police, Rajbir Deswal, said the traffic jam was caused due to lack of co-ordination between the Gurugram and Delhi Police. He said the information should be disseminated through radio channels to reach out to the maximum number of commuters, instead of just updating on social media, and also big screens should be installed across the city at important junctions, as is the practice abroad, to inform the commuters.
“Though the internet has a huge reach in cities like Gurugram, still a very small section follows the police Twitter handles and Facebook pages. It is, therefore, not enough to reach out to masses through only Internet,” said Mr. Deswal.
Joint Commissioner of Police, Delhi Traffic, Narendra Singh Bundela, could not be reached for comments.
