Pune:
Traffic aid posts on Expressway are understaffed and short on jeeps, bikes and fuel, making it difficult for cops to provide speedy assistance during mishaps
The number of accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has shot up to alarming levels, but the highway traffic police department still does not have adequate personnel or equipment to provide assistance in case of mishaps on the high-speed road.
The 97-km Expressway has four highway Traffic Aid Posts (TAPs), two of which come under the Raigad District Division and two under the Pune Division.
MiD DAY visited the Wadgaon and Khandala TAPs and observed that the strength of officers and staff was way below the officially approved numbers, while the equipment allocation was also grossly inadequate. This was resulting in a small bunch of officers having to work overtime to share the workload.
For these policemen, reaching accident spots in time to be of assistance to the victims is no mean task because of inadequate resources. With such a state of affairs, ultimately it is the motorists involved in accidents who lose out on the invaluable aid the highway traffic police can provide.
According to state government rules, every TAP has a sanctioned strength for policemen and other workers. The Khandala TAP is supposed to have two officers, a staff strength of 30 and three drivers but has only one officer, 10 staff members and, let alone drivers, no vehicles.
Assistant Police Inspector Ashok Thube, the lone officer in-charge of the Khandala TAP, said, "Luckily, we have been able to ensure that the lack of resources has not hampered work too much, particularly during mishaps."
He said that if the policemen were better equipped, the motorists would automatically be benefited, as their response time would be less, ensuring the smooth flow of traffic.
"If we are adequately staffed, then during contingencies such as massive traffic snarls, motorists will themselves realise how systematically the traffic is flowing and that they are not dealing with overworked, dour and angry policemen," said Thube.
He said if the TAPs are given enough vehicles, then these could also be utilised to take accident victims to hospitals in case of non-availability of ambulances.
Thube has now been transferred to Mumbai, and the new officer replacing him is yet to take charge.
A constable from the same station said on the condition of anonymity that sometimes they themselves break rules when three policemen ride on a single motorbike to reach an accident spot.
Forget vehicles, the Khandala TAP does not even get an allowance for stationery items such as pen and paper and has no computer. Policemen themselves chip in and buy a few pens, staplers and glue. The Wadgaon TAP has only one officer, 14 staff members instead of 30, two vehicles, of which one is undergoing repairs for the past two months, and one driver where there should be two.
The policemen here have a different story to tell about the resources crunch. Though they were allotted two Bajaj Pulsar motorbikes two years ago, they were not given fuel allowance. So, the policemen have to dip into their pockets every time they have to go out in the line of duty. And as per the rule, the government gives a daily diesel allowance of only five litres per day, which is dismally low to patrol a stretch of 20 km under their jurisdiction.
Assistant Police Inspector Subhash Randive, the officer in-charge, said five litres of diesel is less than adequate if the vehicle had to be rushed to an accident site after a routine patrol. "Luckily, there hasn't been a situation when a major accident has taken place and the entire crew had to rush to the site after a regular patrol. A few constables have to take their own, private vehicles," he said.
Constable Atul Bondge pointed out the two speed guns allotted to the station. "One of the guns is without a camera, which is fine. But they haven't given any allowance for the costly printing cartridges, which we need to print pictures of the speeding vehicles as evidence. We than have to carry the gun along with us to show the photos which is quite cumbersome," said Bondge. "The cartridges cost from Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500 per piece."
The station has another hanging sword over their heads, which luckily has not fallen. The land on which the TAP is located is not yet reserved in their name and could be taken back for road widening by the Public Works Department (PWD).
They also have not been allotted an alternative site despite several letters to higher authorities. Highway Superintendent of Police Dilip Bhujbal confirmed the sad state of the TAPs and said that they were being given maximum support. "I am also in touch with the higher authorities to make the required monetary and manpower allocations," he said.
Instances of delay in reaching accident spots
Traffic officer Kirtikumar Devare from the Khandala TAP cites three recent accidents when the police were delayed because of lack of vehicles.
- On Feb 2, an accident in which four people died took place around 6 am near Aundhe Bridge on the Mumbai-bound lane. A car had collided with a truck. As there was no four-wheeler at the TAP, Devare said two policemen had to take their private bikes, while two commandeered a private tempo. They reached the spot a full 20 minutes later than they would otherwise have if there had been a police jeep.
- In mid-Feb, near Kusgaon toll naka on the Mumbai-bound lane, a person died and two were injured in an accident involving a Honda City around 8.15 pm. The police had to ride private bikes and two contables had to commandeer a private truck. Devare said they could have reached much earlier if a car had been at their disposal.
- A little ahead of Aundhe Bridge in the direction of the city, a tourist Indica fell in the sewer on the edge of the E-way because of a tyre burst, claiming one life. The police reached the spot 25 minutes late, while it would have taken them just 5 minutes to be there in a police van. Two constables had to take a lift in a truck to reach the spot.