THE advice is full of wisdom -- by Nagpur’s Commissioner of Police Dr Ravinder Singal to the City Traffic Police Force -- ‘Be polite and full of kindness while managing traffic.’ This leadership action by Dr Singal -- aided by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-Traffic) Mr Archit Chandak -- will certainly go a long way to mould the Traffic cops into a force with finer culture. The fact that the Commissioner of Police himself sat with the newly-appointed personnel in Traffic Police for the training sessions speaks volumes about his practical leadership skills. Every Nagpurian will wish him -- and DCP Archit Chandak -- great success in the endeavour. However, the loosefooter has always found Traffic Police personnel in Nagpur city quite polite, easily accessible and helpful to the common citizens -- so much so that they even give an impression of being rather too soft against habitual offenders of traffic rules. Most personnel -- rank and file -- in Traffic Police force, come across as persons who are easy to talk to. Factually, it is the people who make a mockery of the Traffic cops by flouting rules in the most brazen manner.

 

When the common people in a city adopt such a culture, then poor Traffic cops cannot do anything. They, then, become hapless watchers of the traffic mayhem around them in a passive manner. May there be no misinterpretation of Dr Singal’s advice to the Traffic cops -- be polite. In no way did the honourable Commissioner of Police mean to suggest that they should tolerate brazen violations of traffic rules by anybody. When a Top Cop advises his force to be ‘kind’, then he does not mean to suggest any looseness in Traffic control or regulation. But even as the Traffic cops handle the burden of their duty on a daily basis, they do have an opportunity to demonstrate to the people a cultured approach while handling the issues that crop up every passing day. On many occasions, the loosefooter chooses to spend some time at important road intersections to see how the people behave on roads and how the Traffic cops conduct themselves. Each of those sessions has given the loosefooter an impression that Nagpur’s Traffic Police department personnel really bends over to understand the people and their issues.

 

This is a tribute not just to the personnel in the Traffic Police force but also to the city’s overall Police leadership -- often manned by persons of fine personal culture. In many other places, this may be treated as rare; in Nagpur, however, it is a common experience of the people to find Traffic Police rank and file treating the people with kindness. By such an approach to Traffic control, the city’s Police often enjoy a good image and reputation. Some people may have some other opinion, which the loosefooter is aware of. Yet, he insists, the majority of Traffic Police personnel often demonstrate a fine culture -- which may not be found so consistently in other cities. When a wise word from the Commissioner of Police comes to such a personnel, it only adds to the over efficiency of the Traffic Police force. Here we come to another dimension -- of people’s conduct.

 

When the Police top brass is so considerate, the common people must reciprocate by equally good conduct on roads. If such a reciprocation really takes place, Nagpur will not take long to become an ideal city at least in this regard. This is the only expectation not just of the loosefooter but also of all others who conduct themselves in the most appropriate manner. If such a change starts taking place, many people will heave a sigh of relief from the tension of having to get out of their homes for whatever reason. “Getting out on the road is such a pain. My blood keeps boiling when I see people behaving in a brazen manner on the road,” a leading cardiologist of the city had said to the loosefooter some time ago. Hence the small expectation that may the common users of city roads decide to conduct themselves in consonance with traffic regulations.n