MARGAO
Four days into the new Motor Vehicles Act fine regime, the numbers of violators booked and fined seemed below expectations, but for a different reason “ the absence of Big Brother in the commercial capital.
In fact, with Big Brother in sleeping mode over the last several months and the Margao Traffic cell facing a manpower crunch, effective enforcement of the new fine regime has been felt by the Men-in-Uniform.
For the moment, only a lone Closed Circuit TV surveillance camera is keeping a close eye on the motor vehicle rule violators, with the 20-odd CCTV cameras lying defunct for want of payment of installation and maintenance fees by the Margao Municipal Council.
While the Margao Traffic Team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dharmesh Angle and Police Inspector (Traffic) PI Gautam Salunke have been on the ground to implement the notified fines and bring traffic discipline, the absence of the CCTV surveillance cameras has come in the way of the effective implementation of the new fine structure.
“The CCTV cameras, if they were functioning, would have helped the Men-in-uniform to bring the traffic violators from the notice room itself. It would have gone a long way in the effective implementation of the new notification”, remarked DySP Angle.
He said the Traffic PI Gautam Salunke had a meeting with the Margao Municipal Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes to help revive the defunct cameras but in vain.
“Once the cameras are repaired and revived, it would facilitate detection of the violators from the notice room itself”, he added.
When The Goan called up the Margao Municipal Council to shed light on the delay in reviving the defunct CCTV cameras, officials said the maintenance bills raised by the contractor were forwarded to the IT department for approval, but the nod has still not come to make the payments. “We will do the follow up with the IT officials over the delay in approving the bills”, the official added.
What’s important to note is that the MMC’s proposal to bring the entire commercial capital under the CCTV scanner with funding from the MPLAD scheme has not borne fruits. In fact, no one in the civic body could explain the status of the CCTV proposal mooted for implementation in the city under the MPLAD scheme.
“The CCTV cameras seemed not to figure on the priority list of the Margao Municipal Council. Otherwise, how can one explain that the proposal to revive the defunct cameras and to go for a new one under the MPLAD scheme is dragging on for months now”, remarked a Police official.
The official added: “The CCTV cameras will not only crack a whip on the traffic violators but will come in handy to detect criminals involved in criminal activities in the city”.
