No go, cop-e with heat

Police personnel on bandobust and traffic duty left to fight the rising temperature with pith helmets, buttermilk and bottles of water

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IN the scorching heat of Vellore, one of the hottest places in the state where temperature is now sizzling at 43 degrees Celsius, a 45-year-old traffic police personnel is busy regulating the traffic, trying his best to ignore the exhaustion from the heat.

His shift begins at 11 am when the sun is at its brightest best. "I am sweating profusely and it drains our energy quickly," he said, adding the concept of splitting the work hours in a day into two four-hour shifts instead of a single eight-hour stretch, has helped in mitigating the adverse effects of this summer to a certain extent.

While commuters feel the one-minute wait at traffic signals unbearable this summer, this policeman, like thousands of other personnel in khaki deployed across the state, stands often without a shade to discharge his duty.

The policeman said pith helmets, butter milk and water help them manage the heat. "Although fans are installed in designated rooms at traffic areas, they often exacerbate the heat," he remarked, wiping the sweat dripping from his brow with a kerchief. "Some areas are devoid of such amenities altogether, leaving officials to bear the brunt of the heat."