Traffic intersections largely in Kolkata, and wherever they exist in the rest of Bengal, have been the sites of oddity since May 2011 when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress trounced the Left Front regime.The ones in Kolkata would have concealed mics that would blare doleful and melancholic Rabindra Sangeet all day long.
The mics have, mercifully, fallen silent. But what you won’t fail to notice at these traffic signals are odd pairs of law enforcers: the white uniform-clad Kolkata Police cops and the beat-up civic or “half-police” as they are pejoratively described.
The “half-police” are objects of Calcuttans’ ridicule since they are neither cops with any substantive authority to enforce traffic rules nor do they have the power to issue challans against violators.
They strictly do not assist the police in investigating criminal cases. One reason why no Calcuttan takes the “half police” (haap pulish in corrupted Bengali) seriously is their turnout – dirty uniforms, which are either a combination of blue or green.