Jeypore: Facing a staff crunch and increasing road traffic, Jeypore police Saturday launched the Student Traffic Volunteers Scholarship Scheme (STVSS) at the Town police station here.
Jeypore is the fifth city of Odisha to launch this scheme which will help in regulating traffic and create awareness.
The scheme was launched in the presence of SP Kanwar Vishal Singh, ASP VR Rao, ASP Udhav Charan Nayak, SDPO TJ Reddy and IIC Sadar Kailash Chandra Sethy.
In the first phase of the scheme, 60 students from Vikram Dev College and the Women’s College were selected and enrolled for six months. They have been given training, and will assist the police in traffic management.
The volunteers will also be involved in creating awareness about traffic rules and have been provided with identity cards, certificates, shoes, caps and T-shirts to avoid arguments with the public, he added.
The SP said the volunteers were selected as per the recommendations of principals and will get a stipend of Rs 100 for assisting the police in regulating traffic for three hours. The Odisha Road Safety Society has provided funds for implementing the scheme.
Addressing the students, the SP welcomed all the volunteers to the police fraternity, and spoke to them about their duties and responsibilities while assisting the police in traffic management.
He also asked the volunteers to take the photos of anybody who violates traffic rules whether they are in uniform or not, and post it in the WhatsApp group of the traffic police so that action can be taken against the violators.
The SP said traffic awareness programmes were being undertaken in educational institutions and the launching of STVSS would make the police effort more effective. The police have set a target to reduce road accidents by 25 per cent during the current fiscal, he added.
The programme was coordinated by IIC in-charge SI Seema Sangita Lugun and SI Tapan Nayak.
PNN