PANAJI
What was touted as a groundbreaking technological intervention to ease traffic congestion at Merces Junction, has instead plunged the area into chaos. The much-hyped Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Security, Integrated Traffic Management and eChallan System, by Beltech AI under a public-private partnership, has allegedly failed to live up to its promise.
The system, launched with much fanfare at the busy junction in March 2023, has left commuters frustrated after taking a bizarre twist -- one of the traffic cameras was spotted hanging and the signals stopped working.
In a desperate measure, the traffic police were compelled to unplug the dangling camera to prevent riders and drivers from being struck by it.
Sources revealed to The Goan that with Merces Junction connecting nearly 10 highways, roads and service lanes; the system’s repeated glitch is allegedly due to coordination flaws between the agencies including the Public Works Department (PWD).
Efforts to resolve the technical issues have reportedly been ignored, despite formal communications from the Traffic Department to both the PWD and Beltech AI, leaving the now non-functional system to constantly inconvenience motorists.
“The signal system installed by Beltech AI in Bengaluru has malfunctioned for several days now. It created immense inconvenience, particularly during the Exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier and the peak tourist season, although now both major events have concluded,” sources close to the department said.
The letter also cited social media bashing besides the death of a woman rider on Oct 17 due to the malfunctioning signals. “The increasing volume of vehicles is putting everyone at risk… We cannot rule out the likelihood of accidents,” the source said.
Despite pleas to resolve the issue before the inauguration of the new District Court complex at Merces on October 19, 2024 which saw the presence of the then Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and several Supreme Court judges, no action was taken.
Sources claimed that a request was also made to dismantle the faulty signals and replace them with the ones under the Smart City project, but there has been no response from PWD and Beltech.
“The system has been malfunctioning for almost two years now. We requested the PWD to direct Beltech to urgently remove the signals so that they can be replaced with a functional system, as the Decennial Exposition and the inauguration of the District Court complex, would get an increasing crowd. But we heard nothing back,” the source said.
A response from Beltech to The Goan’s email and telephonic query is awaited while PWD and Traffic officials remained unavailable for comments.
