Blah blah

My poison

Can’t get over drinking water. I drink a litre/hour. It’s taking over my life.

How many cats can you spot?

Guess. Winner gets a scratch.

Womanning the traffic signal

Wrote this piece for The Times of India.

A link to the original article:
A woman cop could book you for jumping signals

You may notice a rather petite looking traffic police constable in neat khakis furiously blowing a whistle and making hand signals amidst heavy traffic. The hefty Mumbai traffic constable unit that combats pollution, dust and rowdy drivers, now has been infused with 15 fresh female recruits. For the first time in the city, women will man traffic signals, shattering another glass ceiling in a male-dominated profession.

Previously confined indoors and assigned duties that didn’t require physical exertion, the female members of the traffic police monitored CCTV cameras at the Worli headquarters of the Traffic Police. To take up the new challenge successfully, they were trained in the various nuances of traffic control. This involved learning nine arm signals and how to deal with traffic offenders, face-to-face.

For 23-year-old constable Anita Haribahu Gajare, standing for long hours on the road, facing the travails of nature on the job can be physically draining. She credits this ability to her tough upbringing as a farm hand on her parent’s cauliflower farm in Ahmednagar. Worli’s Cadbury junction, Hughes Road and Chowpatty bandstand were the first traffic signals where female constables have been posted since last month. Joint commissioner of police (traffic), Vivek Phansalkar confesses that the Home Minister’s instructions to fill up the 30% reservation for women in the police force prompted them to take this step. “The girls have been trained for a year and will also be learning how to deal with people on the job from their male colleagues,’’ says Phansalkar. And if male road rage becomes too overpowering for them to handle, then they can always fall back on their male counterparts for assistance. “When both men and women are getting the same salary, then they should also fulfill similar duties,’’ he says. Although Thane and Pune have active women traffic cops on the road, Mumbai will see them for the first time.

At the Chowpatty bandstand signal, 26-year-old traffic constable Priti Suresh Changan doesn’t hesitate to pull up male drivers. Her male colleague acknowledges that a lady cop can deal with errant female drivers more tactfully than they manage to do. Changan will soon be taught how to use the breathalyzer to deal with female drunken drivers too.  The only thing that seems to be worrying the new female patrol is sun burn on duty. Pandit Kale, assistant commissioner, Mumbai Traffic Police says they have seen a steady increase in applications from women ready to man traffic signals.

A few points I’d like to make:

• I don’t know how many men would offer a woman police a bribe.
• Wish they’d have a different uniform from the male cops.  And better shoes. I saw Anita stand barefoot the other day.
• Their male counterparts told me women won’t last on the road. ”They’re worried about their complexion and don’t want to turn as dark as us,” said one cop at the police station.
• Never understood what the traffic police’s duties are… Some only catch people for lane crossing and arm signal once in a while. They’ll not bother if any other rules are being broken, even if they are in front of their eyes. Sad.

Tags: mumbai, police, traffic