NAGPUR: The city traffic police social media accounts are abuzz with complaints from all and sundry these days. No complaint posted on Twitter or WhatsApp is going unattended, which has reinforced citizens’ trust in traffic police’s digital outreach, as they see instant action and guarantee of anonymity.
Consider this: The photograph of a car parked in a no-parking zone on
WHC Road is posted on the WhatsApp helpline. Immediately, the picture is acknowledged. In the next two hours, the challan is printed, and a copy shared with the complainant account too.
Similarly, there is a steady flow of photographs from across the city on Twitter too, regarding riding without helmets, no parking, triple seat riders, fancy number plates, tinted glasses etc. Citizens are also reporting non-functional traffic signals, traffic jams, and encroachments to the traffic police.
A team of constables from all five traffic chambers is monitoring the accounts round-the-clock at the E-cell. The tablet used to operate the accounts is also carried back home by one of the constables, to respond to queries or complaints even at night.
Launched in July 2017, the traffic police’s Twitter handle and WhatsApp helpline have started getting a huge response in the last two months. The WhatsApp helpline number is 9011387100 while the official Twitter handle is @trafficngp.
Though citizens used to send complaints earlier too, they would remain unaware of the progress. In late December,
DCP (Traffic)
Ravindrasinh Pardeshi set up the E-cell, which has changed the entire scenario.
DCP (traffic)
Chaitanya S told TOI he has been reviewing and motivating the E-cell to keep track of all complaints. The DCP added, “This has cut malpractices and corruption, since the official is dealing with only a picture and is not in contact with anyone. There are certain IDs from whom we are getting regular complaints, which is welcome. We can’t reach every lane and corner of the city, so the public is helping us police the city.”
Representative image
