17,000 gendarmerie officers on roads during Eid al-Fitr

MANİSA

Turkish Gendarmerie Command has tightened traffic control on the roads during the three-day Eid al-Fitr or Ramadan holiday, deploying thousands of officers equipped with drones, helicopters and smart glasses.

“During the festive holiday, we will be on the roads with 8,000 gendarmerie traffic teams, 17,000 gendarmerie traffic officers, two helicopters and 37 unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV],” said Col. Şinasi Güçlü, Traffic Services Department Head of the Turkish Gendarmerie Command, on June 14.

“We will carry out the inspections and control continuously,” he told state-run Anadolu Agency during inspections in the Akhisar district of the western province of Manisa.

The inspections were particularly tightened on the roads connecting the Istanbul metropolis to the capital Ankara and the resorts in the Aegean region. The number of people traveling during the holiday, which started in the afternoon on June 14, was estimated to be over 2.5 million.

The gendarmerie officers in the Black Sea district of Şile have been using smart glasses to check license plates and driving licenses, according to Anadolu Agency.

Officers also distributed informative leaflets, offered candies and cologne to the travelers.

Meanwhile, traffic police officers have also been on full alert in all cities.

“We have been carrying out inspections with the drones. We take immediate measures after we detect any traffic congestion on a road via drone footage,” police chief Göksel Topaloğu in the northern province of Tokat told Anadolu Agency on June 14.