Vadodara: Noticed a wrongly parked car blocking traffic on the busy road? You can click a photo of the vehicle and send it on a Whatsapp number of the traffic police.
It is likely that the police will address your complaint swiftly. In a bid to reach out to the citizens, the traffic police have launched a Whatsapp number 9099981095, which has already started generating good response from the citizens.
“We wanted to reach out to the citizens and learn about the traffic issues they face so that we can solve them at the earliest. Whatsapp is used by almost every person so we launched a special number where people can send messages and photos,” said Amita Vanani, assistant commissioner of police (traffic).
“We are getting about 100 messages or calls a day. Citizens are sending photos and messages of different areas and the traffic problems they are facing. We are acting on the complaints that can be addressed,” Vanani added. The police said many of the messages are more of suggestions that are not related directly with the traffic department.
Most of the messages received on this dedicated number are of wrong side driving, poor road designs and traffic signals. The city police have taken several initiatives to reach out to citizens and understand the issues they face. The traffic ACP and even city police commissioner had held an online interaction with the citizens through their twitter handle last month.
Hundreds of citizens posed questions and also gave suggestions to the police that promptly acted in some cases. A special drive to clear the roads of encroachments and also educating commuters about traffic rules was also held during the Traffic Safety week.