Andhra Pradesh

Transport department to install Abhayam devices in 18k autorickshaws in Guntur

Express News Service

GUNTUR: As part of the Abhayam project, a one-of-its-kind initiative aimed at ensuring the safety of women and children commuting in autorickshaws and cabs, transport department officials have initiated action to set up IoT devices in vehicles in the city.

The objective of the project is to bring one lakh autorickshaws under the Abhayam initiative across the station. Initially, IoT devices were set up in 1,000 autos in Visakhapatnam as a pilot project and was introduced in Vijayawada and Tirupati in the first phase. In the second phase, these devices will be set up in Guntur and Vizianagaram, said district transport commissioner of the erstwhile Guntur district Shaik Kareem.

Speaking to TNIE, he said, “As many people rely on autorickshaws for commuting in Guntur, we have planned to set up the device in 18,000 autorickshaws. The Abhayam device will be fitted in autorickshaws and cabs and the app will provide emergency help to those in distress, he added.

Those travelling by autos will need to install the Abhayam mobile application on their mobile. A QR code will be affixed on the vehicle. If women using a smartphone encounter any difficulty during their journey, they can send the vehicle number to the police from the app and the whereabouts of the vehicle can be tracked through GPS.Passengers who do not have a smartphone can press the panic button on the IoT device attached to the vehicle and the information will be sent to the Command Control Centre.

This will cause the cab or auto to stop immediately and alert the nearest police station. In the last two months, these devices were fitted in over 1,500 vehicles in the first phase and the officials have sped up the uploading process to set up devices in all vehicles at the earliest. Special technical persons are present at the DTC office, who will fix the device and explain its working to the auto drivers.

Licence number and identification details of all vehicles and drivers will be uploaded to the control room, so they can be traced immediately. However, due to lack of awareness, passengers don’t even know if the device is fixed in the vehicle and its working. Several commuters are confused when asked about the device. “I travel every day in autos but was unaware of any such device,” K Prashanthi, a commuter, said.

However, it is good to know that such measures are being taken to provide more security to women, she added.The transport department officials are trying to increase awareness on the Abhayam project. “We are explaining about the benefits of the device during road safety seminars and awareness programmes,” said Kareem.

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