Catering firm owner mans traffic on a busy underpass in NH 24 as ‘social service’

Every week from Monday to Friday, commuters on the busy Ghaziabad-Noida underpass on National Highway 24 adjoining the capital are greeted by an incongruous sight -- a well-built man, clad in cargo pants and T-shirt, waving his arms frantically and hollering at the top of his voice, standing in the middle of a sea of honking cars.

Meet Sanjeev Trehan, a 52-year-old catering firm owner from Indirapuram in Ghaziabad.

Service minded: Sanjeev Trehan (in yellow T-shirt) is not looking for any praise for his service, but wishes that people follow traffic rules (Photo: IANS)

Every morning from 8.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. for the past three years, Trehan comes to this narrow underpass, hardly 12 feet wide, to help regulate traffic.

Though a couple of police personnel are present on most days, the sheer volume of vehicles proves more than a handful for the hapless cops.

But why would one embark on a mission to drill sense into unruly motorists, even if their death race to cross the narrow underpass has converted the entire area into a daily commuting nightmare?

"I started this as a social service after I was stuck here for 40 minutes a few years back and was shocked that no one cared to manage it for a while. And then I thought something should be done about it and here I am," Trehan shrugs.

According to daily commuters, the first thing he does is to put up barriers - while these are police barriers,sometimes there are no cops around to make use of them - to block the few cars coming from Noida, which can use an alternate road.

This leaves the underpass open for commuters from Indirapuram, Vasundhara, Vaishali and other adjoining areas to use to reach their offices in Noida.

This simple traffic management trick -- giving preference to the office-bound traffic, which vastly outnumbers cars coming from Noida -- has benefited both sides as the entire area is free of bottlenecks.

Anubhav Sinha, a manager in a multinational firm, who has been using this pass for last two years, said: "First, I thought he must be a cop but later I came to know about him through my neighbours. Whenever I see him, I always thank him and tell him that he is doing a great job for society."

Traffic policeman are more than happy to have someone like Trehan around.

"He has been doing this for quite some time. And we appreciate that. Like him, more people should come forward," said a constable on duty at Indirapuram.

Seema Chaudhary, a lecturer, too is all praise for Trehan. "Hard to believe that in this age such a man exists; otherwise who cares. Hats off to him," she said.

Most of the commuters feel a sense of relief when they see him at the pass as they know they will not have to wait for long.

When asked how he feels about these words of praise, Trehan said: "Please, I don't need any thanks for this. I just want people to follow the rules."

May be he could teach people the value of humility next. - IANS