Surveillance cameras to keep vigil on city traffic

January 9th, 2007

Hyderabad: You just jumped a signal and doubly thrilled that you foxed the traffic constable too. But your glee could be short-lived as a surveillance camera has caught your act on tape. Worse, you could be chased by an interceptor.

From February, such instances could become common as the government recently gave consent for an array of gadgets sought by the state transport authority. The department’s shopping list includes five interceptor vehicles, 55 speed radar guns and 11 surveillance cameras. After getting the go-ahead from the government, the Andhra Pradesh Technology Services has set in motion procedures for the procurement of these foreign-made gadgets. “As the procurement will not take much time, these gadgets will be seen in action as early as February first week,” joint transport commissioner N V Subba Rao told TOI on Monday.

The camera mounted interceptors will either be a Tata Sumo or Qualis equipped with a computer connected to the central server, pollution check unit, a mobile speed gun, in-built breath analyser to check drunken driving and 360-degree rotating camera on top of the vehicle. Each interceptor costs about Rs 25 lakh. Of the five interceptors being bought, three will be seen on city roads while one each will be sent to Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. At present, only Delhi has such interceptors which are used mainly for surveillance.

The hand-held speed guns will be given to enforcement officials of transport and traffic police departments to record the speed of overspeeding vehicles. According to the Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the prescribed speed limit for two-wheelers is 50 kmph, while for four-wheelers it is 65 kmph. Armed with the hand-held speed guns, enforcement personnel will record speeds and challan Rs 1,000 for over speeding.

The radar gun works on a simple technique. It continuously emits rays which hit passing vehicles. The rays are reflected back and the device gives a print out of the recorded speed nullifying any scope for arguments by disgruntled motorists.

The surveillance cameras will be put up at Punjagutta, Police Control Room, Ravindra Bharati, Telugu Talli, Monappa Island, Greenlands, Rasoolpura, MJ Market junctions among other places. These cameras will be connected to control units to be set up at STA and traffic control room from where live feed can be watched on monitors. “The surveillance cameras will not only help in recording traffic violations but also come handy in security systems,” said additional commissioner of police A K Khan.Challans will be sent to the violators after enforcement personnel watch the tapes from the interceptors and surveillance cameras.

Source: TOI(Hyderabad-epaper)

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