SHILLONG: The Shillong Traffic police in collaboration with a private firm are now working on the idea of setting up a digitial traffic system in certain parts of Shillong city.
A meeting was held recently here where it was decided that the tenders for the project may be floated by March–April this year.
Sources informed that the firm and the Shillong Traffic police are basically looking at Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based intervention which can improve traffic management in the city.
According to sources, the firm will look to implement only those ideas which are feasible in the local conditions and which are acceptable to the residents.
The idea of the ICT-based traffic system is being mooted as per the Smart City proposal made by the Urban Affairs department and the junctions where this system will be tried have been identified.
The new intervention will be tried on pilot project basis to see if the ideas are practical.
Sources also said that the Shillong Traffic Police and the Urban Affairs department are initially looking to roll out the intervention in few important junctions of the city like Khyndailad, IGP Point, Barik and others.
It may be recalled the Shillong Traffic Police around a decade ago had installed traffic lights in the city at a cost of Rs 2 crore in association with a private firm but the lights went kaput shortly after and the system never kicked off in reality.
Meanwhile, plans of the Shillong police to introduce E-Challans have been delayed owing to the
amendments in the Motor Vehicle Act.
The idea was to issue challans in an electronic format to any traffic violator but the project was delayed since the MV Act was amended and penalties for different offences were changed and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is on the job to start the plan at the earliest.
