Traffic rule violators beware, now people have eyes on you

Kochi: Transport minister KB Ganesh Kumar, on Friday, launched the citizen sentinel feature of mParivahan app, which enables the public to report traffic offences. Officials said that Kerala was the third state in India to implement this feature, through which challans can be issued to rule violators based on visual evidence provided by the public.

Kumar launched the app and illustrated this functionality by clicking the photo of a vehicle parked under a no-parking board. The photo was uploaded into the system using the citizen sentinel feature of the app. Later, through the system, the owner of the vehicle, who was present at the meeting, received a challan via SMS for parking in a no-parking spot.

Citizens can click and upload photos or videos of the offence using the app with the number plate of the offender's vehicle. Transport commissioner CH Nagaraju said in his welcome address that it was Kumar's idea to create an app for citizens so that they can directly report traffic offences. He added that subsequent enquiries led to NIC officials suggesting that the mParivahan app has this capability and it can be used.

"So far, this feature is being used by Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Ours is a state which has a higher population, more road density and good internet penetration. The app would be more efficient here. Right now, we are launching a beta version of this app and it will be updated to improve it," said Nagaraju.

He added that the app has several tamperproof mechanisms and photos clicked through the app can't be edited. GPS location and timestamp would be recorded, and this would enable enforcement of road traffic rules. The aim is to ensure law enforcement through citizens in areas where enforcement officials or systems like AI cameras are absent.

Kumar said this was a new experiment to bring down accidents and errors are bound to happen and the same would be corrected periodically. "For better traffic discipline, enforcement needs to be improved. There is a limit when it comes to law enforcement by MVD officials alone. We need to find offences that happen when vehicles are moving. Waving down vehicles and checking insurance and registration is not enough," he said, adding that if a situation arises where anyone can be clicked committing a violation at any place, then traffic discipline would improve.