3 months and ₹1 crore later, state’s first e-challan project in Bathinda ends in failure

A central control room was also set up at Hanuman Chowk, An inquiry is definitely warranted to establish what went wrong with the execution of the project.

A POLICE SOURCE

The private firm engaged to install these close circuit television (CCTV) cameras has been asked to replace the faulty apparatus at its cost.

GC BHANDARI, DSP (traffic)

BATHINDA: Three months after Bathinda Police launched an automatic challan system (also known as e-challan or video evidence management system) with much fanfare, not a single challan has been issued under the system.

Former inspector general of police (IGP), Bathinda Range, MF Farooqui and SSP Dr Nanak Singh had rolled out the initiative on August 15.

The system that remained a non-starter from day 1 had involved the installation of 128 cameras at 44 spots within city limits. The expenditure incurred was ₹1 crore, but nothing came to fruition as the police failed to even launch a sensitisation drive on this digital initiative.

Sources confirmed that the police were unable to issue challans as surveillance cameras were found to be of poor quality. Guru Gobind Singh Refinery had contributed ₹20 lakh to the project as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

“The private firm engaged to install these close circuit television (CCTV) cameras has been asked to replace the faulty apparatus at its cost. A strengthened mechanism will soon be put in place,” DSP (traffic) Gagan Chand Bhandari told HT on Tuesday. SSP Nanak Singh did not respond to repeated calls.

“A central control room was also set up at Hanuman Chowk and it was stated that the cameras will be able to capture offenders on two-wheelers or four-wheelers even during night. An inquiry is definitely warranted to establish what went wrong with the execution of the project,” a police source claimed.

If everything had gone according to plan, the apparatus was meant to record and send a weblink of any traffic rule violation to the offender through an SMS. With Bathinda unable to make its e-challaning system work, Ludhiana Police launched its digital initiative on traffic management on November 15.