The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) will commission its second State-level control room for monitoring and initiating action on the basis of live feeds from radar surveillance cameras in the city on March 5.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran will open the facility, which will be initially monitoring feeds from various speed detection and red light violation cameras installed by the MVD on the Wadakkanchery-Valayar stretch.
On completion of the pending repair and installation of additional surveillance cameras, the control room will also be able to handle live feeds from north Kerala districts. The new control room at Chevayur will be converted into a district-level unit.
Deputy Transport Commissioner K.M. Shaji said the control room would have facilities to constantly monitor as many as 37 cameras on the Wadakkanchery-Valayar stretch. Technicians from Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON) will be in charge of monitoring camera feeds and issuing notices on behalf of the MVD, he added.
“Vahan, the new software of the department for vehicle registration and issuance of permit, too is ready for an official launch on February 27 in Thiruvananthapuram. With this, the department will be able to track frequent offenders and those who do not pay compounding fee,” he said. According to him, the department will consider the possibility of introducing portable speed detection cameras for automated enforcement in select locations.
An automated heavy vehicle fitness testing centre is ready for opening at Chevayur, which will help the department speed up testing procedures. The unit is equipped with facilities to conduct up to seven tests in various phases on a vehicle. The highlight is that fitness certificates can be issued on the spot. The new mechanism will also put an end to the conventional practice of test-driving vehicles and manually inspecting engine parts.