Mysuru: Over 200 City Traffic Constables walked up the Chamundi Hill yesterday to participate in a session aimed at making them more people-friendly and tourist-friendly. They assembled near Tavarakatte at the foothills at the crack of dawn and began their march to the hilltop.

The session was a part of “Operation Swan” that the city Police have taken up for their welfare. Following a series of complaints that the Traffic Police were behaving rudely with the public, the city’s top Police brass decided to sensitise Policemen about behaving courteously with the people.

Addressing the Policemen at the guest house after they visited the Chamundeshwari Temple, DCP (Crime and Traffic) Dr. Vikram V. Amathe said that the city was one of its kind in the country that attracts maximum number of tourists. “It is our responsibility to behave well with the tourists and enhance the reputation of the city,” he said.

Psychologist and Administrative Training Institute (ATI) faculty Dr. R.N. Kumar and retired Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) Public Relations Officer Jayaprakash Rao held counselling sessions.

Traffic Police personnel participated in the session enthusiastically and after the sessions, they participated in a discussion with senior officers. They shared their opinion freely keeping hierarchies aside.

The interaction session helped them air their grievances and some of them volunteered to give valuable suggestions to achieve the desired objective of making them more people and tourist-friendly.

Police sources said that more such programmes, including health camps and de-addiction camps, will be held in the coming days. Traffic ACP K.N. Madaiah and other officers were present.