A traffic volunteer on duty during Ganeshotsav in Pune
Source: Jayesh Nimase
Scene: a traffic signal. Acrid smoke fills up the nostrils and ears burst with the incessant honking. Impatient commuters have disregarded all traffic rules and arrogantly plant themselves in vehicles of all sizes ON the zebra crossing. Add a horde of eager, wide-eyed festival goers, mostly on two-wheelers to this picture and the situation descends into total anarchy.
Thankfully, the most popular festival in Pune, Ganeshotsav, did not succumb to this fate. Since quite a few years, citizens have been witness to young traffic volunteers flagging down vehicles, whistle in mouth, trying to bring traffic under control during the 10-day festival.
We talk to one such volunteer who has taken up the seemingly Himalayan task of managing Pune’s traffic during Ganeshotsav.
The Duties of a Traffic Volunteer
Jayesh with his team of traffic volunteers from Chanakya Mandal Pariwar
Source: Jayesh Nimase
Jayesh Nimase, 20, is an engineering student working hard to build a career but also to serve the nation. He is part of the Chanakya Mandal Pariwar – headed by ex-IAS officer Avinash Dharmadikari – one of the organisations co-operating with the police force for traffic and crowd management during the festival.
Jayesh’s duties as traffic volunteer are to ensure smooth flow of vehicles at the junction of Fergusson College (FC) and Modern Engineering College road. He is the leader of team number 27, with 14 more members who are spread out over the FC road area. In toto, the Chanakya Mandal Pariwar has put together a task force of 1198 this year, split into teams of 15 each.
Asked what motivated him to become a volunteer, the answer is not a direct response to aiding the police as regards the sorry condition of Pune’s traffic.
“The main aim was service to the nation. Helping out the police was just a by-product.”
This attitude is observed by all of us, he adds, while thanking Avinash Dharmadhikari and his wife Purna who were the backbone of this endeavour.
Commuters’ reactions
So did he and his mates get overwhelmed by the onslaught of vehicles?
“Certainly not! The festive atmosphere really helped keep our spirits up and we enjoyed the job.”
Commuters reacted in myriad ways, but most of them were grateful towards the volunteers. Jayesh recounts, “At the signal, some people thanked us while some quickly offered apologies for overstepping the zebra crossing, before backing off immediately.”
“At the signal, some people thanked us while some quickly offered apologies for overstepping the zebra crossing, before backing off immediately.”
Local merchants also showed their gratitude. A sugarcane juice centre in the old city offered volunteers nearby a glass of juice, while on the final day, a local bank near Alka chowk offered lunch to all the traffic volunteers. “Policemen kept coming up to us and asking us if we had eaten. It was heart warming,” Jayesh adds.
However, they were even scoffed at by some. “Some older people asked us if we were nuts to have signed up for this. I replied yes, we are nuts to be standing here since morning trying to control you lot.”
However, Jayesh assures that volunteers bore no ill feeling as the call of duty was more important than minor squabbles.
Gritty work
Girl volunteers managing the traffic during Ganeshotsav at Pune
Source: Jayesh Nimase
It was an arduous task for the mind and the body, especially on the last day which saw the immersion procession, when they were assigned crowd management duty. “We worked straight from 10 am in the morning to 7.30 am the next morning. It was especially challenging to control crowds who came in from all sides, creating a bottleneck.”
There were no calls of distress amongst the volunteers, a good part of which were girls.
“The girls worked just as hard as the boys. Not a word of complaint escaped their mouths given the long hours and not a moment to sit.” He adds that not a single person in his team left duty midway.
Police vs. Volunteers
Pune’s commuters seemed to obey volunteers more than they obey the police. Does this mean police are less respected?
Jayesh counters, “We were a team of fifteen managing the traffic. Normally, it is just two policemen who manage such traffic on a daily basis. You do the math.”
So does this mean Pune needs volunteers all year round? “Pune’s commuters basically need to be disciplined. There should be no need for volunteers.”
After having got first-hand experience in handling the roads, Jayesh is of the opinion that divider-less roads will benefit from barricades to demarcate the lanes. He champions the online driving tests that reduce the alleged corruption that goes on in obtaining a licence, and recommends that the police make efficient use of software that makes all license plates traceable immediately in the case of a breach of traffic laws.
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