Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has planned to build five elevated smart traffic police boxes at crucial intersections in the capital to curb the increasing congestion caused by police boxes on footpaths and roads.
Recently, the Bangladesh Bridge Authority has built a new elevated traffic box near the modern foot overbridge at Farmgate.
However, a traffic police officer, requesting anonymity, complained that there was not enough space inside
"We are mostly standing near the traffic signals. Since there is heavy traffic flow there, having the traffic box next to the signal would have been more convenient. Additionally, it is difficult to get on top of the new box and it is quite small in size,” the officer said.
Aside from inadequate facilities at traditional traffic police boxes, police officers face a number of other challenges. DNCC designed the smart elevated traffic boxes to eradicate these problems.
What do they offer?
Initially, DNCC planned to construct five modern police boxes at Jahangir Gate, Khamarbari intersection, Mohammadpur bus stand, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital intersection, and Tejgaon's Love Road.
These boxes will have washrooms and an air-conditioning system with other modern facilities.
Tenders have already been announced for the construction of the boxes. The deadline for submitting tenders is on Thursday.
DNCC sources said they are targeting to complete the project by June this year.
Expert’s opinion
Urban planner Adil Muhammad Khan, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), said: "It is good to see that the police boxes will be built without creating any obstruction on the footpaths. Other members including traffic police on duty on the road will benefit from this. Since there are other opportunities for resting and other facilities like washrooms. ”
He said the authority's main objective should be to ensure that there is no obstruction on footpaths or roads. “It's crucial to particularly consider the needs of women police officers.”
On February 1, DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam announced the construction of modern police boxes in Rajarbagh Police Lines for Tk10 crore on the occasion of the 49th founding day of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
In the DNCC area, there are police boxes that create a nuisance for pedestrians. I would appreciate joint efforts to set up a police box. Each police box will have toilets, water, and seating arrangements, he said.
