A day in the life of Rostem Ali, a traffic control policeman

None of us likes to be stuck in traffic; we despise it. But what about those who have no option to avoid it? They have to stand for long hours right in the middle of thousands of passing vehicles, their fumes and mindless honking, all the while tolerating the blinding sun, or pouring rain. 

What we despise is Md Rostem Ali Sarkar's - a traffic control policeman's - workplace. Although it changes weekly, from one busy Dhaka crossing to another, the abovementioned description is, however, a constant. 

Recently, we spent hours watching Rostem Ali work in Shyamoli and tried to learn how a usual day in his line of work passes. We chatted in between and got to learn how he handles 'mad' traffic while keeping composure.

2:10pm 

We called him to ask where he was stationed that day. "Shyamoli Mor," he said, in a rush. "I have not reached yet, there is too much traffic on the street." The irony made us laugh. 

At around 3:15pm, we met him in front of Road 1 in Shyamoli. "Where is that foot overbridge?" a passerby asked Rostem. The well-known Shyamoli Mor footover bridge was stripped down sometime ago, forcing people to cross this busy street haphazardly. 

Like a true multitasker, Rostem was signalling unruly rickshaw pullers to not bundle up near the crossing and also yelling at bus drivers to not park diagonally, outside the designated stops. 

3:50pm

"Bikers have no care in the world. See that biker crossing through the makeshift barricade we put up there? He is breaking the law and I have to nab him," Rostem said and left quickly before the biker could speed away. 

Although Rostem left only for a couple minutes, buses began to hit the brakes abruptly and indiscriminately, disrupting the moving traffic.  "I leave for one minute and all goes to hell!," he exclaimed. 

Rostem is a pious man. We asked him about how he says his daily prayers in a line of work such as this. "On some days I have to keep on working and catch up with prayers when I am home. On less busy days I ask my superiors for a prayer break and they assign another controller until I am back," he said.

A bunch of people were crossing the road and Rostem had to run to their safety. After escorting them safely to the other side, he came to us and said, "These people do not even understand that they stall the vehicles' motion. Tiny interruptions can become big congestions."

4:45pm

Winter days are short; the sun was going down quickly. A few vehicles popped on their headlights. It was also getting slightly chilly. 

At some point in our lives we have all experienced that moment where a traffic sergeant and traffic control policeman will let you off the hook for a minor offence, if you tactfully slip in a few high value Taka notes. 

Rostem, however, did not appear cut from that mold, at least not on the day we spent together. A biker came up to him. He had been handed a ticket for violating a signal by a police sergeant at the previous crossing. 

"Traffic bhai, will I not be allowed to ride my bike until I pay this fine? And what if they nab me again?" asked the seemingly worried biker.

"Well, you can keep riding but make sure not to violate another signal or your next ticket will be twice as much; that is if you get another ticket before paying up for this one," Rostem answered.

Another biker joined them and was asking similar questions. And Rostem answered each question sincerely, citing codes from the law from mere memory. 

Their conversation went on till it became dark. Once the biker was happy with all the information, he bought a few candies and gave Rostem some. 

6pm

Offices were closing and the volume of traffic increased. Rostem went to his resting room and came back with a baton and shoulder signal lights, the latter flickering in red and blue.

We then talked about his family. He has two sons, one of whom has just started studying Computer Science Engineering at a private university and the other is about to take his SSC exam in their hometown in Gaibandha.

"It is a father's duty to provide, regardless of difficulties or hardships. I want my sons to do better in life," Rostem said as he went to attend the rush hour traffic.

His baton with its red and white light waved through the smoggy air. "Shyamoli Mor is a strategic point in the long Mirpur Road. Jam up here would cause Kalyanpur and adjacent areas to suffer," Rostem told me at a higher pitch than usual as constant honking muffled our voices.

7:30pm

Rostem requested his superior for a break. We grabbed some food at a nearby restaurant and conversed over some paratha and vegetables. In fact, the bulk of our conversation happened here. 

As much as we insisted on paying the bill, Rostem would simply not let us do it. To him, we were his guests. 

"My duty hours are not fixed. Say, today I began duty at 2pm and will end at 10pm. I might have to begin duty tomorrow at 8am and then go on till 4pm. I do not know about the timing for the next day or where I will be stationed. I have been doing this for almost 30 years now," he shared with us. 

He joined in 1993 in Chattogram, right after his SSC. He took his HSC exam while serving. He then worked in Rangamati for three years and after that he was sent to Dhaka. 

After Dhaka, he went back to Khagrachari in the Chattogram Hill Tracts. 

"In Khagrachari, I caught malaria. It got so bad I wanted to quit. However, my Khagrachari superior granted me a month's paid leave and said I could extend it should I need more time to recover. I stayed home for 57 days and then came back to work."  

Rostem has been suffering from asthma for a while. When asked about whether he knows of colleagues who fell ill from being constantly exposed to dust and fumes, he hinted that their job does increase the chances of getting such diseases. 

"In the last 30 years, I served almost everywhere in Bangladesh but not for long in northern Bangladesh where my hometown lies. But that is okay," he said. 

"What about working conditions and days off?" we asked him. He replied, "I work seven days a week. Sometimes even during Eid and other major holidays. But after long service periods, we are allowed to apply for long vacations." His take-home salary now is around Tk40,000.   

They are also transported back and forth from work on government vehicles and get other perks such as rations, free treatments etc.  "Even when my asthma acts up every now and then, I get enough gears and support to be able to tackle that," he added.

Does anything interesting happen on the roads? 

"Not really, but there is always some bloke having a road rage. Sometimes their reasons are really funny. These little things I enjoy, of course, after breaking up their fights," he said.

Right before we went for the snack break, a biker who was detained for violating traffic law, complained loudly, "I cannot find my wallet! It is your fault! It was still with me before I was stopped!"

Rostem gently replied, "A pickpocket got to you, bhai. I am sorry for that. Please always keep traffic laws in mind while riding. They exist for your safety."

He later brought this up during our conversation. "We do not particularly enjoy such accusations when they are the ones breaking laws all the time. But we have grown a thick skin over time," he added, in a glum tone.

Our conversation ended with a hot cup of tea.

8pm

The rush hour had subsided. Rostem waved the baton and vehicles kept moving in a more orderly fashion.

A phone call came from his home and we saw him attending to family affairs just as efficiently as he handles traffic. He discussed what groceries they needed at home and about preparing for a guest who might be coming over. He attends such phone calls everyday, assuring his family he is never away from them. 

9pm

By now, the number of vehicles subsided and they moved faster too, thanks to Rostem's unwavering dedication to keep traffic moving. Traffic control policemen can sometimes disappear when traffic becomes worse from bad. But Rostem was clearly not one of them.

"I can rest a while now. My feet are sore but knowing that I will be home soon makes it all tolerable."

We conversed for another half an hour or so, sitting along the pavement. 
Then at around 9:30pm, he went to his resting room, which was neat and tidy. It had benches, cooling fans and other things the traffic control police might need throughout the day.