SMSes to Guide People on Traffic Congestion

A slew of measures are also being taken to ensure smooth traffic before, during and after the 2010 Commonwealth Games

To ensure smooth traffic on roads, the Delhi Police has decided to launch a campaign guiding people about traffic congestion and educate them about road laws.

The campaigning will be launched through SMSes, television and radio, asking people to avoid certain routes where congestion is reported.

Traffic rules and regulations will be publicized through banners, hoardings, advertisements in newspapers and televisions, among other means.

“The exercise is an attempt to provide a hassle free journey to the people on city roads,” Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S N Shrivastava said.

A slew of measures are also being taken to ensure smooth traffic before, during and after the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“There will be a huge traffic during the Games. Lots of people will be coming here. A sudden increase in the number of vehicles can lead to serious problems. Considering which we are planning a road-map as to how we can minimize the usage of private vehicles,” he said.

Police is also encouraging people to use public transport than commuting through their own vehicle. This will also be conveyed by SMSes.

“Sending SMSes come easy as most of the people have mobile phones these days. They can read it as per their convenience. People should avoid the use of private vehicles and use Metro or chartered buses instead,” Shrivastava said.

Delhi Police has also installed state-of-the-art modern control room to regulate traffic and nab violators. “We already have intelligent traffic software system in place, which helps us maintain traffic,” he said.

It has also added extra lines to the traffic helpline. “People can actually report traffic jam by calling at our helpline and request for help. They can ask for traffic congestion related queries and report any incident. Soon we plan to extend it through SMSes also,” Shrivastava said.

Though, the traffic helpline is operational for long, the department has yet not received much response on it. “The SMS campaign is to aware people about our initiatives. We expect a better response out of our efforts,” he added.