HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad traffic police have posted a phone number — 94906 17346 — on social media platform X and asked citizens to WhatsApp photos and videos of traffic violations.
Promising action against violators of traffic rules, the post said: “Wrong side driving? Capture a photo/video and send it to us with location, date and time of violation.”
A flurry of responses followed, with an overwhelming majority of citizens posting about the traffic violations they were witness to. Details of the response on WhatsApp, however, were not shared by the traffic police.
On X, a netizen pointed out that road safety was a shared responsibility — one wrong move can cost lives. “Let’s report, not ignore. Together, we can make our roads safer,” the netizen wrote.
Another netizen questioned the police on whether generating challans based on WhatsApp complaints was possible. “Only authorised personnel can do this (impose fines) under the Motor Vehicle Act and you’re required to mention the Section of law, name of officer who imposed the challan, date, time, location for accountability,” the netizen wrote.
While there was no immediate clarification to this query on X, the fact that citizens can now report traffic violations through the ubiquitous WhatsApp is being seen as a welcome step.