Women’s Day Special/From traffic junctions to night patrols, Hyderabad’s women in uniform take the frontline

At the busy Kukatpally Y junction on a warm Saturday morning, traffic surged from every direction and in the middle of it all stood a woman traffic constable.

Her hands cut through the air with practised precision, halting one stream of vehicles while ushering another forward. Within moments, the knot of vehicles began to loosen. Vehicles moved in disciplined rows through the intersection, following the rhythm of her gestures.