In a jam

Residents of Patna would get relief from traffic congestion soon.

The police headquarters has approved the proposal for setting up two more traffic police stations in Patna to ease congestion, a pere-nnial problem.

At present, there are three traffic police stations at Gandhi Maidan, Saguna roundabout and Zero Mile to regulate traffic. The capital, according to the official data available at the district transport office, has over two lakh private vehicles (four-wheelers) and one lakh each motorbikes and commercial vehicles. In addition, there are 11,000 autorickshaws.

“Since there are plans to expand the limits of the city, we will require more traffic police stations. The number of vehicles will also increase in that proportion,” said a senior police officer posted at the headquarters.

The officer added that separate traffic police stations have also been proposed for 19 other towns of the state, including Muzaffarpur, Biharsharif (Nalanda), Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Motihari (East Champaran).

“All the towns that have a population of 1 lakh will now have separate traffic police stations,” he added.

The new stations in Patna would be opened keeping in the mind the expansion of the two sub-divisional towns — Bihta and Fatuha.

“We will require more traffic police stations once the Digha-Sonepur railway-cum-road bridge is opened for the public. In addition, the Patliputra railway station, which is likely to be made operational, will accelerate the flow of passengers,” the officer explained.

Patna traffic superintendent of police Prantosh Kumar Das said the three stations were facing acute manpower shortage.

“Against the sanctioned strength of 660, (according to the 2005 proposals), we have only 228 personnel to regulate the traffic right from Saguna Mor in the west to Zero Mile (up to Deedarganj) in the east,” he said on Thursday.

Besides, there are 400 homeguards, who have been assigned the task.

“The strength of the traffic station has not been increased even after a decade, whereas the number of vehicles has gone up manifold in the town,” Das said.

Sources in the traffic police said the entire capital has been divided into 30 sectors each headed by a sub-inspector-rank officer to regulate the movement of vehicles.