A green cop guides pedestrians as a sergeant looks on. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Wearing a green cap and a shirt with the “civic police volunteer” catchline, Prodip Das guides pedestrians through the busy Moulali crossing while keeping an eye on vehicles flouting traffic rules.

Prodip is a member of the city’s first batch of “green police” (a term coined by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee), lending a helping hand to the overtasked Calcutta police.

“They are called green cops because their primary responsibility is to save the environment. Green cops look after no-parking zones, ensure that cars don’t cross the line at traffic signals and pedestrians use the zebra crossing. They take down the numbers of vehicles flouting traffic rules and hand them over to the sergeant on duty,” explained Md Salahuddin Pervez, the officer-in-charge of Sealdah Traffic Guard, which has got 11 green cops.

Some of the boys have been inducted into the traffic department, working at the NS Road-Hare Street crossing, in front of Dalhousie Church and in Mangoe Lane. Others are posted at spots like Millennium Park, Victoria Memorial, Citizen’s Park and Elliot Park to protect the greenery.

A joint initiative of Calcutta police and Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), the green police project has been necessitated by a lack of manpower in the police force. A total of 560 youths, chosen from the football tournament Friendship Cup hosted by Calcutta police, have undergone a three-day training at the Police Training School on AJC Bose Road.

Eighteen-year-old Prodip, who joined the Sealdah Traffic Guard, is happy with the Rs 89 he gets as a day’s wage. “We learnt how traffic police simultaneously maintain the movement of vehicles as well as pedestrians. We were also informed about certain laws that need to be followed before arresting anyone,” he said.

The first batch of 560 green cops will work for six months, after which Calcutta police will ask the local clubs for a second batch.