THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The pulsating riders ‘vrooming’ ahead on their muscular motorbikes, showcasing their dare deviltry to the public, now need not wait for long to get the notice to pay the fine for the traffic offence as the Transport Department has decided to outsource the facility management services to the state-run Keltron. Keltron will provide the services at the Motor Vehicle Department’s (MVD) Central Enforcement Control Room in Kochi at a cost of `3.91 cr yearly.
It is the spurt in the number of freak road mishaps and the panic expressed by pedestrians which forced the department’s hand. Also, the cheeky motorists who trick the red light violation detection system (RLVD) roads in the absence of proper stop line by slowing down while approaching them and then speeding off again once past them are in for a nasty surprise as the department has decided to replace them with speed detection cameras.
According to a government release, the Transport Commissioner submitted a proposal seeking administrative sanction for providing facility management service to the Central Enforcement Control Room at Ernakulam at an estimated cost of `3.91 crore yearly. Following this, administrative sanction was granted for providing facility management services by Keltron.
S P Gopakumar, Keltron’s head of the Communications Division, said Keltron will provide facility management services like verifying the violation on roads, issuing receipts to offenders, collection of fine, employee management and paying recurrence charges for maintaining the facility. Presently, the contract workers employed by the Transport Department have been running the show at the Central Enforcement Control Room. But now with Keltron being entrusted charge of the facility management services, some 26 new employees will be recruited.
They will work in daily two shifts and serve notices on nearly 5,000 offenders, against the 2,500-3,000 notices presently being served by the department on an average, he said.Enforcement RTO K M Shaji, Kochi, told Express the MVD has installed over 203 cameras along the NH in the state. The department is in the process of installing 38 more cameras from Vadakkenchery to Walayar in Palakkad. Of the 203 cameras, 104 cameras are speed detection cameras of which less than 70 are functional now and 99 are red light violation detection systems of which only seven are functional now due to various reasons.
It is expected with Keltron being roped in for running the facility management services, a good part of the services being provided by the enforcement control room will be streamlined. It was in 2009 the Transport Department started installing cameras on roads in the state with 15 cameras which eventually went upto around 240 (once the installation of 38 in Palakkad is completed).
But the infrastructure facilities have remained the same despite the increase in the number of road accidents and installation of cameras. Two more control rooms will soon be set up- one in Kozhikode and another in Thrissur, said officers. Once these two control rooms become functional, there will not be any delay in serving notices and the service will be made upto date, said the officers.