Bhubaneswar: Commerce and Transport (C&T) Minister Tukuni Sahu inaugurated the command and control centre for vehicle location tracking device (VLTD) at Bhubaneswar-II RTO new building in Chandrasekharpur area here, Friday. According to sources in the know of the development, the round-the-clock integrated centre will use global positioning system (GPS)-based vehicle tracking and GSM/GPRS channel for triggering emergency alerts. “Common emergency toll lines, motor vehicle wing, police control room and other related enforcement units will be looped into a real-time data sharing network, with the command control centre functioning as an interface for the stakeholder agencies,” they said, adding that an application has also been developed for various stakeholders. The Centre has mandated fitment of VLTDs in public transport vehicles under Nirbhaya Scheme.
The Central Motor Vehicle Rule 1989 has also been amended for the purpose. Sahu said the command and control centre will be instrumental in facilitating vehicle location tracking. “Fitment of VLTDs will help continuous monitoring of public transport vehicles not only to ensuring safety of passengers, especially women, but also to assist law enforcing agencies. The control and command centre will facilitate the noble initiative,” Sahu pointed out. C&T department Principal Secretary Usha Padhee said the State Transport Authority (STA) has inked a pact with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for the development and management of a vehicle location tracking application. BSNL has developed, deployed, integrated and commissioned a vehicle location tracking software ‘Mo Yatra Suraksha’ for tracking as well as monitoring of vehicles under the project, Padhee said.
Sources said the Centre has approved manufacturers of VLTDs and panic buttons in public transport vehicles. The state government has published the standard operating procedure (SOP) for empanelment of these manufacturers. As of now, six VLTD manufacturers have been registered in Odisha and 11 have completed their testing procedure.
Accordingly, these empanelled manufacturers have started affixing the VLTDs to both new and old vehicles. The vehicle owners have the liberty to choose and affix VLTDs from the empanelled manufacturers, a list of which is available on the website of the state transport department, they said. Except for auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws, all passenger transport vehicles will be equipped with VLT panic buttons for the safety of women and children.
All goods vehicles operating under the strength of national permit and all goods vehicles transporting explosive and hazardous materials have to install VLTDs, they pointed out. Specified vehicles bought January 1, 2024 or after shall have to comply with the requirement at the time of registration. Those registered December 31, 2023 or before will have to comply with the requirement by June 30, 2024, they pointed out.