At 200 complaints per day, MVD’s Citizen Sentinel initiative turns a hit

Many complaints have been rejected because of reasons like poor clarity, inadequate information, and offences not matching the image captured.
At 200 complaints per day, MVD’s Citizen Sentinel initiative turns a hit
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KOCHI: The Citizen Sentinel feature in the NextGen mParivahan app launched by the motor vehicle department (MVD) is gaining popularity in the state. Since the launch of the feature three months ago, MVD has been receiving 200 complaints per day on average. According to data until the first week of January, the department received a total of 9,103 photo/video complaints, with 3,727 of those offences being approved.

Many complaints have been rejected because of reasons like poor clarity, inadequate information, and offences not matching the image captured.

MVD had launched the feature within its mParivahan mobile application to facilitate the reporting of live traffic violations by the public by uploading pictures and videos on the app for enforcement officials to take legal action. Citizens can report offences like obstructive parking or riding without a helmet or an overloaded vehicle instantly. The photo or video uploaded -- below 8mb -- should present a clear visual of the number plate of the vehicle committing the offence.

One drawback the facility has faced since its launch last October is that the vehicle number has to be typed manually within the application for the complaint to be registered. Some users have found the process a bit tedious.

“As we had brought the issue to the notice of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), they are working on making the entry of vehicle number optional and to auto-detect the number from the picture/video being uploaded using the Optical Character Reading (OCR) technology. This is expected to come into practice soon,” said Transport Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam.

Kerala is the third state, after Chhattisgarh and Odisha, to launch the Citizen Sentinel feature developed by NIC as an initiative to reduce traffic offences.

Within the mParivahan app, an icon representing traffic signals is where citizens can upload the offences as they spot one on the road. The app’s database will automatically detect the type of vehicle as soon as the vehicle number is uploaded, as well as the location, date, and time of the visuals uploaded.

Once the offence is registered, the issue will be notified to an official who verifies the data and takes appropriate action. The credentials of the person who registers the offence through the application will remain anonymous.

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