Vidyasagar Jagadeesan, an employee of ICICI Bank in Hyderabad, was in for a pleasant surprise last week, when a complete stranger walked up to him to thank him, and gifted him a raincoat.
Vidyasagar is one of the many volunteers in Hyderabad who help the Cyberabad Traffic Police manage traffic during rush hours in the city, thanks to the 'Traffic Volunteers' initiative by the Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC).
Speaking to TNM about the incident, he says, "I didn't even know her but she works in the same building. She happened to see me volunteering on a rainy day. I had forgotten my raincoat and I was drenched while managing traffic. She said that she couldn't stop to say thanks, so she bought me a raincoat as a token of gratitude. It was a heartening gesture, and it reminds us why we pitch in to help."
Surprise!!! A lady employee saw me volunteering last week in rain at ICICI junction, thanked me today. Gave a "Thank You" note and a portable raincoat. No words to describe. Thanks. @CYBTRAFFIC pic.twitter.com/0pVH8ELWrW
— Vidyasagar Jagadeesan (@jvidyasagar) September 30, 2019
The volunteers can often be spotted at IIIT Junction, Cyber Towers, Lemon Tree, Mindspace, Wipro Circle, ICICI Junction and Bio Diversity.
The origin
The SCSC was formed in 2006 through a joint collaboration between the Cyberabad Police and IT companies, and works in tandem with authorities to improve infrastructure, security and road safety in the IT corridor, among other things.
The Traffic Volunteers initiative began in 2014 and the SCSC says that they have registered a massive growth, with around 300 volunteers from different IT companies contributing 20,000+ hours of effort to support the Cyberabad Traffic Police team, so far. Volunteers also capture violations and share them with the Traffic Police to raise e-challans.
Companies from where techies actively participate include Microsoft, TCS, Virtusa, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, Capgemini, HSBC, Dell and ICICI to name a few.
Speaking to TNM, Krishna Yedula, the general secretary of SCSC says, "The initiative started with just 4 or 5 volunteers and has become a movement today, thanks to committed IT employees who use their free time to extend their support to traffic cops during peak hours and regulate traffic."
"We have great stories to tell about these passionate souls who don't get tired of this tough job, day in and day out, whether it rains or shines," he adds.
"I have been volunteering at the ICICI junction itself for the last 10 months, because the flow of traffic is huge in the evening. I volunteer for around two to three hours in the evening after work," says Vidyasagar.
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Signing up
To sign up, all one needs to do is approach the SCSC at the Cyberabad Commissionerate in Gachibowli. All traffic volunteers have to undergo mandatory orientation and Basic Life Support (BLS) training organised by Cyberabad Traffic Police and the SCSC.
A traffic volunteer registration cum attendance app has also been developed for this purpose. Every volunteer is also provided with a kit comprising of a jacket, a cap, a whistle and a raincoat. They are also given an ID badge so commuters can identify them as approved volunteers.
"SCSC traffic forum created a structure in such a way that there are junction coordinators for every junction in the IT corridor, to coordinate deployment of volunteers on a day to day basis," Krishna says.
"You can pick and choose but generally, volunteers do it on an everyday basis, especially in the evenings, when the traffic is a lot. I had taken a break for 3 months in between because of personal commitments but because of the rains in September, I decided to pitch in again," Vidyasagar says.
The impact
Speaking to TNM, DCP Cyberabad Traffic Police Vijay Kumar says, "The first impact is the change among the attitude of the volunteers themselves. Once the volunteers begin work, they get more mature and informed as citizens. They understand that if there is a pothole or a signal is not working, they can't have a knee-jerk reaction and blame the traffic police. They understand the complexity of city governance and the responsibilities of each department and the scope of the police."
"Secondly, they also help the police as they inform us about various issues, especially in the interior roads. If there are traffic issues or violations; from bottle necks, to breakdowns to accidents, they report it to us," he adds.
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The senior police officer also notes that the volunteers help spread information about various public initiatives taken up by the traffic police.
"For example, everyone has a misconception on helping accident victims and remain bystanders. The volunteers are more ready to step in and help victims, and they also create awareness about such things with their friends, colleagues and family," Vijay Kumar says.
The police also award and incentivise volunteers who contribute the highest number of hours, provide good solutions at junctions or display Good Samaritan traits.
"It is certainly a tiring task but the satisfaction it brings to volunteers is unexplainable. One has to go through this experience to understand it. When we started this initiative, the larger objective was to address the road user behaviour, and we cannot change the world overnight. Having said this, if that one volunteer changes their mindset about their responsibility of adhering to traffic rules and changes himself or herself, we would achieve our goal," Krishna says.