40 BMC cameras to keep eye on roads
The BMC has already started implementing a Smart Signal' system at all traffic signals in the city.
Mumbai: To prevent vehicles from over-speeding and thus causing road accidents, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to install 40 Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras on three major roads in the city — Marine Drive, Eastern Express Highway (EEH) and Western Express Highway (WEH).
According to civic officials, installing cameras is a part of various measures suggested by the traffic police to find solutions to traffic problems and prevent road accidents.
“We have decided to install 40 ANPR cameras on Marine Drive, EEH and WEH. With the installation of these cameras, punitive action can be taken against drivers in the form of a fine through e-challans if there is over-speeding. This would help control speed limits and prevent road accidents,” said a senior civic official.
The ANPR technology uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates. Police forces use ANPR for law enforcement purposes, including to check if a vehicle is registered or licensed. It is also used for electronic toll collection on roads and as a method of cataloguing traffic movement.
The work of installing the ANPR cameras has been allotted to M/s Aabmatica Technologies Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 2.14 crore. Their scope of work involves supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance.
There are a total of 590 signals on roads across the city. The BMC has already started implementing a ‘Smart Signal’ system at all traffic signals in the city. The salient feature of the system is that the duration of a particular signal gets adjusted according to the intensity of the traffic. Accordingly, 255 of the 590 signals have been converted into smart signals, which are equipped with vehicle detection cameras. The system registers the traffic flow on roads with the help of computers and keeps the signal green towards the direction in which there is more traffic.
More than 5,000 cameras are installed in the city on roads and at public places. All these are government cameras and the figure doesn’t include private cameras installed in housing societies and other such places.