How tweet-savvy are Gurgaon traffic cops? Day 1 proves a real test

GURUGRAM: Launched on Monday, Gurgaon traffic police’s Twitter handle has already become wildly popular, with a flood of complaints about traffic congestions and violations, some suggestions and a fair number of strange, wacko requests, that have made reading the thread amusing.

Police launched the handle to seek citizens’ support and suggestions, as well as publicise live traffic alerts. Within a few hours, though, frequent requests for catching stray dogs or driving away beggars from the streets had also converted it into a mirror of the city’s civic soul.

There were of course the usual complaints about issues like traffic lights that don’t work, lack of traffic cops or requests for information on closed exits and U-turns. One user even asked for guidance on car breakdowns. By and large, commuters reacted positively about the cops’ response to their tweeted complaints and requests.

A user posted a photo of an ambulance stuck in traffic at Kherki Daula toll plaza, and wrote: “Is some part of humanity left as even ambulance waited for 15 minutes at Kherki Daula toll”. Another user posted the photo of the rear number plate of a car, with a caste legend on it — very popular these days — and asked cops: “How will you fine this?”. Quick in their response, cops asked for the car’s registration number, but the user tweeted back, saying there’s no number displayed at all. Another user posted a video from Manesar of a vehicle being driven down the wrong side, and asked why there never are any cops to manage such illegalities.

Then there were tweets revealing some of the city’s problems that never get highlighted, like difficulty in locating information about certain services. A tweeter wrote he was given a speeding ticket three months ago, when his driving licence was confiscated, that he wanted to collect it now and wanted to know what process to follow.

Police also posted traffic alerts about congestions. Talking about the response he got to a tweeted question about ‘no entry’ timings, a grateful user tweeted, “This is the fastest response I’ve got from any agency in Gurgaon. Thank you for addressing my complaint and making me believe that the city has a law enforcing agency.”

“The response is stupendous, I must say. Not only are people constantly updating inputs about problems or filing complaints, they are also pitching in with useful suggestions. The Twitter handle has given us citizen traffic cops,” said a beaming police commissioner K K Rao.