Mohali traffic wing battles severe shortage of staff

Mohali, December 30

The Mohali traffic police have been batting with severe staff shortage for years’ altogether. According to an annual report titled “Punjab road crashes and traffic-2022”, released by the office of the Punjab Director General of Police, there are a only 164 traffic police personnel, including one Superintendent of Police, one Deputy Superintendent of Police, two inspectors, three assistant sub-inspectors, 15 head constables and 142 constables, in the traffic wing of the district police.

Not just the traffic wing, the entire Police Department has been grappling with the staff shortage for a long time. The VIP movement and court appearances take away most of the man hours leading to laxity in the enforcement of rules. Officials, Police Department

Only three patrol vehicles are deployed on the National and State Highways in Mohali district which has a road length of 1811.05 km.

In 2022, as many as 296 people lost their lives and 233 were grievously injured in road accidents and crashes in Mohali district.

“In 2023, roughly 269 fatalities have been reported from the district,” said Dr Sandeep Garg, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohali.

According to the 2022 report, speeding and stray animals remain the main cause of deaths in road accidents in the district and the state. A maximum number of road accident fatalities were reported between 6 pm and 9 pm in 2022. At least 75 per cent of road accident fatalities occurred in the rural areas of the state.

Officials said not just the traffic wing, the entire Police Department, too, had been grappling with staff shortage for a long time. They said, “VIP movement and court appearances take away most of the man hours leading to laxity in the enforcement of rules.”

The CCTV cameras are non-functional at many places in the district. Besides, CCTV cameras are yet to be installed at key points in the district. Non-availability of CCTV footages makes the task even more difficult for the police personnel.

More than seven months after the Punjab Chief Minister announced on June 9 that a Sadak Suraksha Force would be constituted, the specialised traffic patrolling unit is yet to be seen on the ground.

In the first phase, 1,300 cops with 144 vehicles would be deputed in the Sadak Suraksha Force across the state.

Officials said, “Every 30 km on highways, 116 Isuzu vehicles will be deployed. Twenty-eight SUVs equipped with speed radars will patrol roads in the state.”