Bengal, Kolkata Police step up tech use to boost traffic enforcement

Kolkata: The West Bengal government and Kolkata Police have moved to strengthen traffic enforcement through two separate initiatives, with the combined cost of the projects close to Rs 10 crore.

Sources confirmed that the Traffic and Road Safety wing of West Bengal Police is planning to procure 8,100 body-worn cameras for traffic personnel across the state, along with five years of comprehensive warranty and annual maintenance support. The estimated cost of the procurement is Rs 7.29 crore.

The cameras are meant to record on-duty interactions of traffic personnel, creating an audio-visual record of enforcement actions, traffic violations and road incidents. Officials said the move is aimed at improving accountability on the roads and strengthening evidence in cases of disputes or violations.

It was learnt that the cameras must support high-definition video recording, still photography and night-time recording through infrared technology. Each device must have a minimum battery backup of eight hours and be lightweight, weather-resistant and suitable for use during long duty hours.

Sources said the users will not be allowed to delete, edit or overwrite recorded footage. The project also includes training and technical support for traffic personnel during the warranty period.

Separately, Kolkata Police have invited bids for the supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of a Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD) system for the Traffic Department. The project covers 20 traffic junctions in the city and has an estimated cost of Rs 2.49 crore. Under the project, each junction will be fitted with high-resolution cameras and automatic number plate recognition software to detect red-light jumping. The system will also capture violations such as riding without helmets, triple riding on two-wheelers and wrong-way driving.

Sources said that for each violation, the system will generate images and video clips along with time, date and location details. Alerts will be sent immediately to the central traffic control room at Lalbazar, while violation data will be transmitted based on available network capacity for further action.

The RLVD system is designed to operate during both day and night and function across different weather conditions. The selected agency will be responsible for supply, installation, testing, commissioning, training and five years of comprehensive warranty and maintenance after the system goes live. The tender mandates a minimum system uptime of 95 per cent and includes penalty provisions.