Transgender individuals in Hyderabad’s Cyberabad to join traffic management efforts after completing specialized training.
Hyderabad: Five members from the trans community joined the Cyberabad traffic police. As traffic marshals, they will be involved in key areas. They will be on the field after completing a week-long training programme, slated to commence in the coming week. At a later stage, and depending on their strengths, they could get job opportunities with IT companies.
Jareena, Vishalakshi, Anusha, Prabhas and Vasu Priya were among the 97 traffic marshals who were deployed as helping hands to the traffic police last year. Several trans persons have been working with the Hyderabad traffic police.
Once trained, they will be deployed in and around Madhapur, Raidurgam, and Narsingi during peak traffic hours, from 8 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm.
A meeting between Cyberabad women’s safety wing DCP Srujana Karnam and around 45 trans gurus from the tri-commissionerates, and Chandramukhi Muvvala, a pioneering trans woman activist who unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly elections from the Jubilee Hills constituency, resulted in this initiative.
Although the initiative can be attributed to many persons, following a decision taken by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy last year, Pinky, chief of a counselling centre run near Gachibowli police station, played a crucial role in influencing the trans community members to take up new roles.
“Pinky has been counseling these traffic marshals for over three months now. This counselling was mandatory to ensure that our traffic marshals are mentally ready to forget their past lives and step into this new one with vigour and a positive mindset,” DCP Karnam said.
The department will use the services of more psychologists to ensure that they will not be affected by the stress while on the job.
According to Madhapur DCP (traffic) T. Sai Manohar the performance of the recruits would be reviewed for three months, during which period they would be asked to help traffic constables.
“Their training would consist of general traffic monitoring, and collaborating with the traffic police. They will also be given a thorough training in understanding the Motor Vehicle Act,” he said.
“Once we are able to figure out the roles that they can fit in, we will approach IT companies for offering work opportunities based on those strengths,” Karnam said.
Each traffic marshal would get a monthly pay of Rs 18,000, of which Rs 3,000 would be deducted.
A similar initiative was taken up by the Cyberabad police last July, when around 83 traffic marshals were deployed in collaboration with the Society of Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC).
The training aspects would be the responsibility of the traffic police, while their salaries would be sponsored by IT and ITes companies.
