Solely a special day can get you off the bed early throughout winter within the Backyard Metropolis. But, on Tuesday morning, I sprang awake
I dreamed of reflective vests, shrill whistles, and the fun of flagging down rule-breaking motorists. Because the Bengaluru Site visitors Police invited residents to expertise what it feels wish to handle peak-hour visitors, I enrolled for obligation at one of many metropolis’s most notorious bottlenecks: Iblur junction.
At 8 am, my colleague N. Ravichandran and I inched alongside Outer Ring Highway. By the point we reached Iblur round 8.30 am, the day already felt lengthy.
The briefing
Bellandur inspector Nagappa C. and assistant sub-inspector A. Krishnappa handed me a reflective jacket and briefed me for 20 minutes. By 9 am, I used to be able to stay the dream, solely to understand they weren’t giving me a whistle. I made a decision I might depend on my voice as an alternative.
Six routes converge at this junction, fed by visitors from Sarjapur, Silk Board and Yemlur. Donning the jacket, I started managing autos shifting from the Silk Board aspect in the direction of Sarjapur.
A biker in a black jacket appeared me up and down and smiled oddly as he waited for the inexperienced sign. I refocused on the lights, checking if it was time to cease the Sarjapur stream. That is when somebody behind me mentioned, “Sir, naavu?” (“Sir, we?”). An extended line of pedestrians stood ready for me to clear their means, some already trying to cross by heavy visitors. I attempted to politely ask them to step again. They did not.
One girl in her 50s depended totally on me to cease autos. As quickly because the sign turned crimson, I rushed to the center of the street, halted visitors, and allow them to cross. Earlier than I might breathe, honking erupted once more, from a unique path. It wasn’t a warning anymore; it was frustration.
It took six full sign cycles for me to know the juggling act: conserving autos of their lanes, looking forward to sign adjustments, monitoring pedestrians, giving hand alerts, and receiving congestion updates from stationed officers.
The chaos
Managing every little thing easily proved unattainable. Persistent honking drilled my ears, exhaust settled on my head, coughing grew to become fixed, and my legs felt heavy.
An ambulance out of the blue appeared in my lane. I froze. ASI Krishnappa rushed ahead, stopped visitors, and cleared the trail. No sooner had it handed than the honking resumed.
Minutes later, a automotive brushed towards one other, and each stopped in the midst of the street. Mr. Krishnappa and I ran to deal with it. I attempted urging autos to maneuver, however motorists slowed all the way down to stare. A biker shouted a slur at me for blocking visitors.
Starvation units in. I requested Mr. Krishnappa after they often eat. He mentioned breakfast comes solely after peak hours, round 11.30 am Studying my thoughts, he steered a espresso break. My again ached, and mud coated my tongue and nostril. The second half of obligation wasn’t any simpler, however no less than I now understood the rhythm.
When obligation lastly ended at 11.15 am, my telephone confirmed 7,000 steps, simply from pacing round. I returned to the police chowki, washed my face, and sat down
Bengaluru visitors, up shut
Like town itself, Bengaluru’s visitors is a vivid mixture of languages, behaviours, ages and car varieties.
By the top of the session, I spotted that lower-ranked officers are the true foot troopers and visitors police personnel had one of the thankless jobs.
Earlier than leaving, I requested Mr. Krishnappa how he handles the stress daily. He smiled warmly and mentioned his job retains him glad.
Suresh Kumar additionally turns visitors police for a day
Rajajinagar MLA S. Suresh Kumar additionally stepped into the function of a visitors police officer at Bhashyam Circle on Tuesday.
Mr. Kumar mentioned he took up the accountability after being impressed by the initiative of the Bengaluru Site visitors Police. He mentioned he wished to know the day by day challenges confronted by visitors police and observe how visitors alerts and enforcement work on the bottom.
He was seen shifting round, stopping autos shifting recklessly, and guiding pedestrians. Talking on the event, Mr. Kumar urged the general public to strictly observe visitors guidelines, noting that violations stay excessive as a result of many motorists fail to conform.
Printed – November 18, 2025 09:54 pm IST