LAHORE, April 26: Traffic policemen, who are being replaced with a new force, have demanded that they should be posted in their home districts.

“We are ready to be repatriated to the district police, but prefer to be posted near our hometowns,” said an assistant sub-inspector on The Mall.

Another official on Jail Road said managing traffic in cities like Lahore was a difficult task. “We have to perform our duty for more than 12 hours a day in an environment that has high degrees of air and noise pollution, mostly without a day-off and even on festivals like Eids,” he said.

Another official termed the job thankless. “We keep the traffic going, even under extreme weather conditions, but are not spared for our lapses owing to fatigue,” he said.

A head-constable on Ferozepur Road said they were more experienced and could have performed better had the department offered them the same perks and privileges as being given to the new staff.

“Anyway we have welcomed the new induction and are training them to the best of our abilities and experience,” he said.

In the first phase, around 2,768 traffic wardens, including 139 women, out of the sanctioned strength of 2,800 are replacing 1,400 traffic officials on May 1 in the city, traffic officials told Dawn. These officials, in new uniform, will be given 1,250 motorcycles and 3,500 wireless sets to perform their duty.

They have already been deployed at crossings and roads on a trial basis to regulate the traffic. The existing traffic staff is also extending full cooperation to the newcomers in discharge of their duty following the directives of the high-ups.

Women wardens, mostly deployed on The Mall, can be seen observing the traffic system rather than controlling traffic. They have been trained to drive motorcycles and, after May 1, they will be seen driving motorcycles as a part of their duty.

—Muhammad Faisal Ali