Berhampur: The civic body will install solar power-integrated traffic signal system at five places in the city.
Civic body commissioner Chakravorty Singh Rathore had recently announced this at a traffic personnel meeting. "We will install the traffic lights and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at these five places after discussing in details with the experts," Rathore said.
Earlier, traffic lights were installed at Gate Bazar Square, Tata Benz Square, Bijipur Square and Town Hall Square. But these systems were totally damaged during the Phailin in 2013.
This apart, Berhampur police superintendent Pinak Mishra is planning to come up with a WhatsApp group of traffic personnel in the city for better co-ordination. "We are trying to ease out the traffic congestion," Mishra said.Addressing traffic personnel and student volunteers at Traffic police station in the Old bus stand area, Rathore said the approach of traffic personnel towards the public should be more systematic.
"Police personnel must use helmet while riding bikes or they would be suspended. The police must be the example for others." Rathore said.
"Traffic personnel must work sincerely for eight hours and maintain restraint while dealing with the public. I have observed that the traffic personnel act like mute spectators when people violate the traffic rules in front of them. Catch them and park their vehicles on the road side. Send their photographs to the WhatsApp group, and we will take action," he said.
Additional superintendents of police Shantanu Kumar Das and Trinath Patel, Berhampur sub-divisional police officer Prabhat Chandra Routray, inspectors in charge of Town police station, Bada Bazar police station, BNPur police station and Gosaninuagaon police station as well as Berhampur sub-collector Siddhartha Shankar Swain attended the meeting.
Berhampur Municipal Corporation and the district administration started a demolition drive from Nandan Hotel to Jyoti Residency immediately after the meeting to ease out the traffic congestion on the road. "We would not spare anybody who encroaches the road causing traffic congestion," said Shankar.
