Traffic wardens to check street crimes: Pervaiz

Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that the new system of traffic police will play effective role in traffic management and regulation apart from proving a role model. He said that besides having required professional skills to deal with traffic problems, traffic wardens would also be able to check street crimes efficiently.
He said that an amount of Rs three billion is being spent on the reorganisation of traffic police in five major cities of Punjab including Lahore, Gujrannwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan, which will bring about a revolutionary change in the traffic system in these cities.
He was addressing inaugural ceremony of the new system of Lahore Traffic Police at Fortress Stadium, here on Thursday. District Nazim Lahore Mian Amer Mehmood and Inspector General Police Punjab Ahmad Nasim also spoke on the occasion. Capital City Police Chief Malik Muhammad Iqbal, DIG Traffic Punjab Altaf Qamar and other senior officers were also present.
The chief minister said that the project of streamlining the system of traffic in five major cities of Punjab had been started from Lahore and six thousand young graduates had been recruited as traffic wardens. He said that training, on modern lines had been imparted to traffic wardens and they had been granted all the powers to control traffic. He said that traffic wardens would be able to take legal action against the violators of traffic rules under this revolutionary system of traffic policing.
He further said that a monthly salary of Rs 16,000 would be paid to traffic wardens while their duty hours would be between 8 to 10 hours with a weekly day off. He said that new uniforms, motorcycles, wireless sets and weapons were being provided to traffic wardens and now it was their responsibility to display a high standard of efficiency with regard to implementation of traffic laws. He said that the new system of city traffic police would be extended to other cities of the province as well.
He said that illegal encroachments were resulting in narrowing of the roads which was interruptions the flow of traffic. He said that Nazims and traffic wardens should make collective efforts for the removal of encroachments so that traffic problems could be resolved and relief could be provided to the citizens.
He said that a training school of international standard for driving and traffic affairs would be established in Punjab. He said that comprehensive planning had been made for the capacity building of police training institutes as well as improving their professional efficiency.
District Nazim Lahore, Mian Amer Mehmood said that new system of traffic police is in accordance with the vision of Chief Minister Punjab and traffic wardens would bring about a marked improvement in the traffic system through modern methods of discipline and management.