If all goes according to ‘plans’, Lucknow’s traffic management system would soon go hi-tech (computerised) and those white uniform clad figures called traffic policemen would become a rare phenomena.

A proposal to fully computerise 43 of the major crossings of Lucknow has been floated. With this new initiative, these crossings would not require traffic policemen to guide the traffic. ‘‘Traffic lights at these crossings would have timers, as we have in Delhi, to control and regulate the flow of traffic and they would be operated through one centralised office,’’ informed SP (Traffic) Omkar Singh.
He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Road safety in Uttar Pradesh: Safe roads for everyone’, organised under the World Bank aided Uttar Pradesh State Roads Project.

Director (Traffic) Brijlal also shed some light on the proposal. ‘‘Till date traffic lights were maintained by municipal corporations, but now it would be under the direct control of the traffic police,’’ he said. The director said tenders had been invited for installing traffic lights in six districts of Uttar Pradesh for the first phase of the plan.

‘‘Tenders for Rs 8.5 crore has been invited for installation of traffic lights in Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra and three districts of the ‘National Capital Region’- Ghaziabad, Noida and Meerut.’’

Omkar Singh, expressing joy at the high share that Lucknow would receive, said, ‘‘A major chunk (of the project), Rs 2 crore, have been reserved for the city capital.’’
However, when SP was asked about the time this project would take, he said, ‘‘As the project has yet not started and only tenders have been invited, so a definite deadline would be difficult to put down. But he was certain that this project would make up for earlier ‘flop shows’.

Another major move discussed at the workshop was setting up of oxygen chambers at highly polluted intersection points. Brijlal said, ‘‘Proposals have been sent to government for oxygen chambers. Earlier, we had provided gas masks to the traffic policemen but now we are planning to instal oxygen chambers. This would keep our traffic cops healthy, as they are the ones who are worst hit by the harmful gases from these vehicles.”

Yet another point discussed was the rising incidents of deaths following road accidents in the state. As Brijlal pointed out, ‘‘There are cities like Kanpur where there are three times higher accidental deaths than murders. Most of these deaths occur following a lack of proper medical assistance during the first hour of injury (en Hour). People hesitate to help such victims as they fear that they may be harassed by the police. Most victims lose their life while the formalities are being completed.’’ He said he had issued circulars to various district police officials in November 2004, that formalities can be done later.

According to a Supreme Court ruling in Pandit Parmanand Katara vs Union of India, the Apex court issued directions that saving a victim’s life was of utmost importance, and the person who brings in the patient should not be forced to be a case witness. Brijlal said, case.”

He added, ‘‘We have also forwarded a proposal to reward those who help a victim during that crucial ‘en Hour’. He would also be given Rs 100 as travelling allowance.’’