Panipat admn aims at making NH-44 a 'model road'

The district administration has decided to make a model road in the globally known ‘Textile City’ by decongesting the NH-44 and covering it with the high-resolution CCTV surveillance system.

The CCTV camera project, however, was planned last one year and is still stuck in files. The district administration and the police department had conducted a survey and identified 106 sensitive points in the city to install 250 cameras around one year ago.

The district police have started working to identify more such points where high-resolution CCTV cameras will be installed. Besides, the district administration has also made a plan to purchase its own recovery van to deal with the traffic rule violators, especially those who park their vehicles on road or on the service lanes.

Sources said police teams conducted a survey and prepared a detailed project report (DPR) of sensitive points, the maximum being on the highways and outer roads in the city, to install the CCTV cameras. DSP, Traffic, Suresh Kumar Saini said the main motive was to make a congestion free-model road in the city where traffic moves smoothly, he said.

Under the project, the NH-44 on both sides of the elevated highway – from the start point at toll plaza to end of the elevated highway near Sewah- would be included, the DSP traffic said.

This zone would be covered with the CCTV cameras which reads the number plate of a vehicle. Those speeding, jumping red lights or driving on wrong lanes would be challaned automatically, he said.

SP Lokender Singh said the teams were working on the project sincerely to make a model road in the city. The project was being carried out jointly with the district administration and the Municipal Corporation, he added.

Deputy Commissioner Virender Dahiya said the CCTV installation project is being carried out worth Rs 2.5 crore under the environment responsibility scheme under the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) project to regulate the traffic system in the city. Traffic congestion is also a big reason behind the air pollution, the DC added.

Besides, the parking under the elevated highway was allotted to a contractor for a monthly rent of Rs 12.60 lakh. With these funds, a recovery van would be purchased to deal with the traffic rule violators, the DC said.