Srinagar: The Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has started work on the second phase of the Intelligent Traffic System Lights (ITSL) system in Srinagar, under which 33 more such lights would be installed at junctions across the city, officials said on Wednesday.
SMC Commissioner Gazanfar Ali said that ITSL lights were installed at 33 locations in Srinagar in Phase 1 and another 33 will complete the project. “We have started work for the second phase and it will be completed as soon as possible,” the commissioner said.
He added that the SMC is mulling to set up a control room to manage the control of these lights. “Currently, the lights are working on manual mode but after completion of the project they will work on sensors. They would detect everything automatically through sensors,” he said.
In March this year, the government had directed the SMC to complete the installation of lights before June, but due to the Covid19 pandemic the project was delayed.
The project tender for Phase II of ITLS was awarded to a company from outside J&K, the ‘Envoys Electronics Private Limited’, last month, Ali informed.
An official at SMC said that among the lights installed at 33 junctions under Phase I, 26 are functional and 7 are “having some issues which will be resolved in a few days”.
“We would be able to monitor traffic pressure on different routes and divert traffic to alternative routes, if needed,” the official said.
He said that cameras would catch the drivers who jump the traffic signal and, subsequently, a challan would be sent on the address of the vehicle owner along with the photographic evidence of the violation.
The ITLL system will automatically read the volume of traffic at crossings and accident-prone areas and will likely reduce the occurrence of traffic jams besides reducing road accidents in Srinagar city.
The project, sponsored under AMRUT scheme, was started at an estimated cost of Rs 4.15 crore in the first phase. The work on the project was started in December 2017.

NAZIMA SIDIQ