First phase of smart traffic management system completed in Jammu

The first phase of the intelligent traffic management and surveillance system (ITMSS) has been made operational in Jammu, a step that would help authorities better manage vehicular flow and catch violators.

The system is operational at 12 major locations in the city and activities are being monitored from a traffic department-managed integrated command and control centre.

"Operations (of the ITMSS' first phase) have started in Jammu," Vehant Technologies chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Kapil Bardeja said.

The project is being implemented in phases with system integrators, he said.

"The project was initiated in November 2022. Installations are going on and depending upon the installations with system integrators, the project will be completed soon," Bardeja, whose firm has been tasked with implementation of the ITMSS in Jammu. He added that software solutions have already been deployed at some locations.

In the first phase, the ITMSS has been deployed and made operational at 12 major locations, including at Zorawar Singh Chowk, railway station, RBI Turning, G L Dogra Chowk, Panama Chowk, Jammu University Gate, Last Morh, Main Stop Gandhi Nagar, R S Pura airport, Gujjar Nagar Chowk and Valmiki Chowk, officials said.

The intelligent traffic management and city surveillance system will be in place at 38 junctions having traffic signals, once the project is completed, they said.

The officials said automatic vehicle number plate identification, red light violation, stolen vehicle identification and using of mobilephone while driving are among the things that can be detected by the smart system.

Usually, these intelligent traffic management system projects are implemented by a "master systems integrator" firm and then there are artificial intelligence software providers like Vehant Technologies that provide solutions to make roads safer, they said.

The ITMSS automatically encrypts and transfers data of violation to a centralised server at the Traffic Police headquarters, the officials said.

"The system also facilitates e-challan generation along with photo and video evidence which is then sent to the violator's mobile phone through SMS. The system is capable of 24X7 operations," an official said.

This solution will have an overview camera to capture the zoomed-out picture of an entire area when there has been a red-light violation, he said.

The officials said the network will read the number plate of an offending vehicle and store it in the database.

Based on the information received from these cameras, an adaptive traffic-control system can also alter traffic signal cycles in real time to respond to changing traffic conditions. Once fully-operational, the system is expected to cut down waiting time at traffic signals by almost half, they said.

"The red light violation detection system will allow traffic police to keep a track on violators and generate e-challan," an official said.

The system would consist of camera mounted sensors for better detection of traffic violations and data would be relayed to the central control room, the officials said.

"It will also help police to detect and register cases against persons for not wearing helmets, over speeding, triple-riding, stop line violations, speaking over the phone while driving and other violations," the official said.

These cameras also function effectively during night hours as recording takes place only if there is vehicle movement on the roads, he added.