And they are to return to the same spot, after taking a four-hour break. Sources in the city police say due to manpower shortage, they are unable to rotate shifts more often to help policemen beat the heat in a better way. And despite several recommendations, no effort has been taken to augment the strength of traffic police in the city, which has seen a phenomenal growth in vehicle population over the last 10 years.

Highly placed officers say even the sanctioned strength of traffic cops in the city is inadequate to take care of the mounting volume of traffic in the city. “With that being the case, the force is functioning with more than 300 posts vacant. 

The policemen have no other go but to stand in the scorching heat for an extended duration. We have not provided them with any sort of protective gear to shield them from the harsh sunlight.  So they tend to shift from their posts once in a while and seek shade to avoid heat strokes,” a senior police official said. 

Sources told DTNext that the traffic policemen already suffer from many skin ailments, kidney stones and heat strokes. Many of them are affected by chronic respiratory diseases due to continuous exposure to vehicle smoke and fine dust. “We cannot go and sit under a shade when we are put on duty at busy traffic signals in the city.