To ensure security and cooperation to passengers and travellers passing through the state, the Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to deploy UP-112 emergency service police personnel at state highways and expressways. The duties of these officers will further include providing information related to routes, refreshments, hotels, hospitals and any other essential facilities to the commuters.
UP-112 for Security and Assistance
The UP-112 is the state’s integrated police emergency management system that has taken up that task of providing security and assistance to the passengers, through vigilant surveillance at regionals expressways and highways. This scheme is designed to work at two levels, reducing the number of road crashes and serving as a lifesaver for travellers who get caught in an accident. The deployed personnel will not only reach the site in a blink, reducing response time but will also assist to take the injured to the nearest hospital.
The Additional Director General, UP-112, said that apart from these services, the personnel of 112 will also identify and penalize those passengers who are involved in over-speeding and flouting traffic rules.
“They will also check unnecessary stoppages on highways which are also a cause of accidents. During foggy conditions, such activities also add to the fatalities and the deployment of 112 will come handy to prevent them. Besides this, some hospitals also are being listed to deal with emergency situations,” he added further.
The on-duty policemen will also regularly remove vehicles that are parked unsafely on the roads and take down illegal establishments along state these connecting roadways, ensuring a 360-degree safe tour experience to the tourists and commuters. “Our cops will also be removing illegal fencings that have been done at places to erect unsafe local bylanes. Besides, removal of illegal hotels and shops will also be on our priority for a better, smoother and safer traffic movement”, added Arun.
Equipped to the T!
High-quality reflective stickers have been put on all the Police Response Vehicles (PRVs) of the 112 services for increased visibility from a distance. The Additional DG also informed that these vehicles will also be connected with the control room of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) for better coordination. The on-duty personnel have also been provided with high visibility jackets to enhance distinctness at night and during fog.
“In the first phase of the exercise, 18 PRVs of 112 have been deployed on the Lucknow- Agra Expressway. Once the trial is successful, the 112 PRVs will be further deployed on the Yamuna Expressway. Besides this, the state government will be deploying 112 PRVs on all of its state highways,” stated the Additional DG. This initiative, he said, will also make the police easily accessible to rural areas as well. “People living in the rural areas alongside expressways and highways will also benefit from the initiative as the cops will be easily approachable for them”
Tourist-Friendly Arrangement
Uttar Pradesh emerged as the most preferred destination of tourists in 2019 and according to statistics, this decision of the state government will further give a boost to tourism in the state. The arrangement makes the roads safer for passengers, domestic tourists entering the state by road.
In terms of the number of domestic tourists’ footfall, the state has secured the first rank last year. The interest of tourists has been steadily increasing in destinations like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Mathura, Agra, Chitrakoot, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Lakhimpur, Bahraich, Jhansi and other places.
~With inputs from IANS
