KOLKATA: Traffic constables and civic volunteers of Kolkata Police, who are attached with 25 different traffic guards, will now have to work six hours a day instead of eight, a new order from Lalbazar said.
The development is expected to bring some relief for the men who need to spend the maximum time on road.
The officers, including sergeants, will not be eligible for this concession, though. While sergeants and officers get the chance to move around as part of their job profile, the constables and civic volunteers have a fixed point of duty.
The police top brass said this year the order had been passed a bit earlier keeping in mind the heatwave-like condition in the city. "The order usually gets issued by the second week of May," claimed an officer.
All guards have been asked to use all possible measures to provide relief to ground level personnel while on duty. This includes allowing timely breaks during continuous duty. Thus, while certain guards are installing stand fans at certain points, others are arranging for daily distribution of ORS, water and fruit juices. At south traffic guard, for example, the cops are using earthen pitchers to store drinking water at the crossings.
However, with acute manpower shortage hitting all traffic guards, cops said they were not sure if the order can always be implemented.
"We are trying to ensure that we do not put pressure on those constables who are aged. For others, we will try to provide all basic help so that they do not fall ill in this heat," said an officer.
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