Kochi: The Motor Vehicle Department has devised a new Rs 70-lakh project aimed at setting up high-resolution night vision cameras all along the routes to Pamba to monitor vehicles proceeding to the hill shrine this pilgrimage season. The initiative would help in quick response to emergencies like mishaps as the CCTV cameras will be linked to seven police stations besides the control room. “Besides ensuring commuter safety, all offences like rash driving can be detected. The cameras will record number plates of vehicles even at night, and we aim to take a count of vehicles. The detailed project report is ready and awaiting sanction from the Road Safety Fund,” said R. Ramachandran Nair, the regional transport officer, Pathanamthitta.
“Only a few new cameras need to be installed. Already there are CCTV cameras for a majority of the stretches, and that needs to be converted to high-resolution night vision ones. The Kerala police has also initiated a similar attempt.” This is in addition to the ongoing Safe Zone project cutting mishaps during the pilgrimage in an area covering over 300 km.
The current flow of vehicles (both inflow and outflow) as per roughly calculated statics is 46,000 per day. The MVD has formed 14 squads to patrol the roads leading to Pampa round the clock from Tuesday. The MVD vehicles will be equipped with the GPS-based vehicle tracking systems and speed radars among others. Meanwhile, the Kerala Police on Tuesday introduced a five-digit helpline number – 12890 - and a mobile application for pilgrims.
