Ranchi Police Introduce Cooling Jackets for Traffic Personnel Amidst Rising Summer Temperatures

Ranchi: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Ranchi district police on Friday introduced fan-fitted cooling jackets to keep traffic personnel cool on-duty during the summer months. Jackets equipped with battery-powered fans were distributed to five personnel on Friday on a pilot basis. The move is aimed at providing relief to the traffic personnel on the roads as mercury levels continue to soar in Ranchi.

Notably, the state capital recorded maximum daytime temperature of 38.9°C on Friday. Jamshedpur recorded 43.1°C and Daltonganj recorded 45.2°C.

The fan-fitted jackets are designed to keep traffic cops comfortable while on duty by providing continuous airflow, reducing sweating and lowering body temperature for up to eight hours. With the pilot rollout, Ranchi joined cities like Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad that took similar initiatives earlier.

Traffic SP Ranchi Rakesh Singh said the idea was inspired by Ahmedabad police distributing cooling jackets to some 3,000 personnel. “Traffic police personnel have to face a lot of inconvenience managing traffic during the summer, standing on roads for long hours. Although traffic posts are made at several locations across the city, the cops cannot just sit there and manage the traffic all the time,” Singh said.

“So the jackets have been introduced and distributed among five personnel at first to assess their effectiveness. Feedback from the users will also be taken after using it for some days, based on which the decision to introduce the initiative for the entire force will be taken,” Singh said.

Beyond cooling, the jackets include reflective strips to improve visibility on dark roads at night, reducing accident risk. “The cooling jackets are waterproof and can be used as raincoats during the monsoon, unplugging the batteries. During winter, the same jackets can be used to protect from cold,” the traffic SP added.

Speaking about the cost, Singh said, “A Gujarat-based company has provided us with the sample jackets to use. We are waiting for the response from the users before working on budgeting.”

Traffic officer Santosh Kumar Paswan, stationed at Albert Ekka Chowk, reported immediate benefits: “The jacket has given immense relief from the heat. I barely sweated today, unlike other days when excessive sweating causes dehydration, and I have to drink fluids to stay hydrated. Also, the jacket is lightweight.”