Now, Mumbai traffic police to address citizens as sir, madam

Traffic police personnel catch people roaming out for no reason during lockdown in Mumbai

The Mumbai Traffic Police's recently appointed joint commissioner of police (traffic) Yashashvi Yadav issued a circular stating that politeness from traffic policemen will be mandatory from now onwards. Talking about the same, Yadav said, "We will fine the traffic violators as per law, but with politeness. I have asked my personnel to address citizens as 'sir', 'madam' or 'shriman', 'shrimati'."

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Speaking to Hindustan Times, the joint commissioner of police (traffic) said, "There are lots of scuffles between vehicle drivers and traffic police. We have also observed that rudeness is the reason behind such scuffles and most people hate to encounter the police. This circular will build a respectful bond between police and the common man."

Yadav said that a person is usually aware of the traffic rules he or she has flouted. However, he said that if the same is put across to them politely, the person will surely think before repeating it in the future. "We thought talking politely and gently will be very helpful for better communication between policemen and citizens," Yadav added.

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He further said, "The traffic police will be given a week's time to change their tone while talking and after that, if any of them appear to be talking rudely with anyone they will have to face administrative action."

In Mumbai, there are over 3,000 policemen in the traffic division and around 2,500 traffic policemen who interact with people on the road on a daily basis. Back in 2006, a similar circular was issued by the then police commissioner of Thane D Shivanandan.

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