The Traffic Department is contemplating roping-in students of Scouts and Guides to man traffic along the coastal belt for Christmas and New Year season.
“We will deploy the trained students only in case of staff shortage and emergency situation. At present, we have already enhanced our staff strength along the coastal belt in view of heavy traffic during the peak season,” DySP Jayprakash Nagvekar told Herald.
In the last 22-months, traffic officials have trained 646 Scout and Guide students. Their deployment in case of emergency will mostly be at main cities including Panjim, Mapusa, Margao and Vasco to assist the existing personnel.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Arvind Gawas last week had told Herald that at least 100 additional traffic personnel will be deployed to control and regulate traffic along the coastal belt.
The department has also trained 500-odd personnel from the Goa Reserve Police and Indian Reserve Battalion on traffic duty who will be enrolled when in need.
Around 28,980 school and college students between January 2009 and October 2010 have been thoroughly trained in traffic regulation – both theoretically and practically.
The Traffic Education Cell has imparted traffic education to more than 58,000 people including defense force, students, drivers, conductors, riders, teachers, parents and others during the same period.
“Among the defense force, the Navy officials are trained to control traffic within their vast premise. The traffic education to them is basically for their internal use,” said the officer.
The State attracts nearly 25-lakh domestic and foreign tourists annually and the visits increase for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
According to Nagvekar, there is almost 15 to 20 percent increase in the vehicles coming from states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Gujarat in the tourist season.
[Source]
