the goan I network
PANAJI
The deaths due to road mishaps have declined by 22 per cent in the 10 months till November as compared to the same period last year.
Goa’s roads claimed 208 lives this year as against the 272 deaths reported in road accidents last year, recording 64 lesser fatalities and Director General of Police, Muktesh Chander believes much of the credit for it should go to the traffic sentinel scheme launched last year.
Chander said, the ‘traffic sentinel scheme’ has been very effective to instill traffic sense among the people of Goa. The scheme which is part of community policing through the active participation of members of the public, sought to prosecute traffic violators.
On its introduction in November 2017 around 1,18,701 challans have been issued through the vigilant 2905 ‘Sentinels’ who also earned substantial amounts of award money. What’s however noteworthy in the one year that the scheme was in force is that not even a single of these 1.18 lakh cases registered and compounded through the ‘traffic sentinel’ scheme has been challenged in the courts.
“Not a single litigation has landed in court as there is digital evidence available,” Chander said, adding that some of the violators did come up with complaints but on showing the digital evidence backed off and paid the fines.
Goa is the only State after Delhi which has a traffic sentinel scheme operational.
To add more automation features to this mobile-based traffic offence reporting scheme, the police department has introduced a Sentinel friendly app which will be launched on Thursday at a function where a lottery draw will also be held to pick two winners from among the 2905 sentinels who will win a bike and a car.
The automation app meanwhile, is developed by Goa Electronics Limited at a cost of around Rs 20 lakh. It will allow the registered users (sentinels) to click photographs that will by default get forwarded to the Police Traffic Cell.
Based on this photograph, the challan will be generated and subsequently be issued to the traffic violators.
