PANAJI
Not all is well with Goa Police’s e-challan devices! The fully cashless traffic fine system is faltering, which has now left motorists fuming and traffic personnel helpless. A fresh technical glitch in the e-challan machines, if not all, has led to payments being deducted without generating challans – turning routine enforcement into a bureaucratic nightmare.
Several traffic police personnel are reporting a surge in complaints with violators demanding proof of their payments. Even the seniors on field duty are grappling with the alleged malfunctioning devices as motorists have been questioning whether their money has gone into the right hands.
“The amount gets deducted from the violators’ respective accounts but the challan is not processed. We try explaining that they receive an SMS confirmation but many insist on a physical copy arguing it is official documentation,” a traffic officer told The Goan wishing anonymity.
When such a situation arises, violators are shown the POS machine’s screen displaying the challan details including the fine amount, payment status and an “Upload Status: PENDING” message. However, repeated attempts to process these challans have failed, with the system saving them only as drafts.
A senior police officer conceded to the problem terming it a “teething issue” that would be rectified soon. “There could be server issues, but violators do receive an SMS confirmation. The technical difficulties will be resolved at the earliest,” he assured.
Glitches continue to mar cashless ambitions
Barely a week into the department’s rollout of the 100 per cent digital system, the first red flag appeared when the cash payment option remained active on the devices.
With nearly 10,000 challans issued under the new system, the Traffic Department had sought the National Informatics Centre’s (NIC) help to disable the cash mode permanently. However, as the devices are supplied by Axis Bank, the responsibility for rectifying the issue remains with the bank and sources confirmed that the fix is still awaited.
The cashless system was insisted upon after the infamous misappropriation at Bicholim police station where a woman constable allegedly swindled Rs 17.30 lakh over 11 months until her transfer to Colvale.
However, due to continued technical glitches, cash payments are still being accepted, albeit in some cases. The Traffic Department, on the other hand, has denied accepting cash payments though admitting the option is still visible on the devices.
Same devices had problems in 2023 and back
In August 2023, the department confirmed a ‘software bug’ or ‘hardware malfunction’ in the PoS machines after The Goan exposed how the Automatic Android e-challan devices were logged into multiple locations simultaneously.
