In two weeks’ time, the city will see its tech-savvy police equipped with ‘geotagging’ tablets and video cameras fitted in uniforms relaunching a ‘one-of-its-kind’ towing system for wrongly-parked vehicles.
In a bid to reduce traffic congestion, police will operate from a centralised control room attached to a traffic helpline number. Police have already invited tenders for vehicles used for towing.
In January 2013, then assistant commissioner of police (traffic), Swapan Sharma, had started a similar tow-away drive in the city to considerable success.
Deputy commissioner of police, Dhruman Nimbale, claimed that the proposed system will be a unique one never used in the country before.
“We will set up a centralised control room connected to the helpline 100 and traffic helpline 1073 with three additional sub-controls-cum-towing ponds,” he said.
He added that the towing vehicle will be fitted with cameras, providing live coverage to the control room. The staff will be equipped with tablets in which they will enter details of wrongly-parked vehicles with its picture. Police are also introducing geotagging for the first time. This feature will enable them to add a geographical identification of the spot where the vehicle was towed from. Since all data will be geotagged, it will be available on a map for drawing out ‘troubleprone areas’.
{{/usCountry}}He added that the towing vehicle will be fitted with cameras, providing live coverage to the control room. The staff will be equipped with tablets in which they will enter details of wrongly-parked vehicles with its picture. Police are also introducing geotagging for the first time. This feature will enable them to add a geographical identification of the spot where the vehicle was towed from. Since all data will be geotagged, it will be available on a map for drawing out ‘troubleprone areas’.
{{/usCountry}}Nimbale also added that police uniforms will be fitted with cameras that will record the towing. These cameras will also record vehicle owners, in case they interfere in the process or misbehave with cops.
“As soon as the vehicle is towed, the traffic in charge of the zone, control rooms and senior traffic officers will be informed systematically. Any citizen can ring the helplines to know about a towed vehicle and will be informed where the vehicles have been impounded, the name of the officer, contact details and the requisite fine,” said the DCP.
“Senior officers can get tabular data on their mobile phones about the performance of police in towing vehicles,” he added.