Thirty municipalities around the city have agreed to a proposal from police to hire youths who will man traffic on accident-prone arteries.

Representatives of the 30 civic bodies and senior police officers will meet in Salt Lake on Monday to work out details of the arrangement.

“The civic bodies should share the responsibility of traffic management as they function as local government,” said the special inspector general of police (presidency range), Somen Mitra, who will chair the meeting.

The primary focus will be on hiring youths for regulating traffic. “This is our first priority, as it is not possible for the understaffed police department to man every intersection,” Mitra said.

The youths will wear uniforms which will bear the police logo with the words Traffic Volunteer written on it. The civic authorities, who will pay the volunteers, will decide on the salary structure.

“The civic bodies will be issued certain guidelines, which will include setting up of signal posts and guard rails and formation of disaster management squads,” Mitra added.

The squads will ensure that rescue operations start right after a mishap. “We have seen that on most occasions trained rescue personnel reach mishap sites late. Once the civic bodies set up their rescue teams, the intervention time will be considerably reduced,” said an officer.

The municipalities will also keep heavy cranes ready round-the-clock for towing away vehicles and helping the police after a mishap.

The police have also decided to remove squatters from some arteries.

“Diamond Harbour Road, BT Road and VIP Road have become narrow at some points because of encroachment,” said the officer.