Guwahati Traffic Police collected a total amount of Rs. 80 lakhs in fines during the five days of the Durga Puja celebration, reports emerged on Thursday.
According to sources, the citizens of Guwahati violated the traffic rules at an alarming rate during the Durga Puja festival and the highest amount of fine was imposed on Maha Navami i.e., on October 23.
Around 100 traffic rules violators were caught in Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) CCTV cameras that were activated ahead of the festivities.
The fines were imposed for not wearing seat belts or helmets and not following traffic signal lights.
On October 20, DCP Traffic Jayanta Sarathi Borah said, “The National Information Centre (NIC) will monitor 61 Internet Protocol (IP) cameras deployed throughout the city. Intelligent Traffic Management System uses standard surveillance IP cameras to capture the video for analysis. Thus, the citizens are advised to wear helmets while riding a two-wheeler and seat belts while driving a four-wheeler vehicle. The city police will be strict against traffic violators. The penalties will be imposed within 24 hours of the violation conducted by the offender. Once the violations are captured on IP cameras, no one will be spared.”
It may be mentioned that the ITMS was introduced in Guwahati last year to ensure seamless mobility of traffic, check traffic violations and serve e-challans.
Former Guwahati Police Commissioner, presently the special DGP Assam Police Harmeet Singh earlier stated that ITMS is a dynamic system and requires a few days for proper calibration. Thus, there was no issuance of e-challans until the calibration was completed.
He had also urged citizens to follow single-lane driving and abide by traffic laws.
