Traffic e-challans set to return

The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has begun preparations to resume issuing e-challans over violations of traffic rules after a gap of a year.

According to officials concerned, the authority's staff is working to make functional the CCTV cameras. The PSCA had given up e-challan and some other functions last year after over 30 per cent of its cameras in the city malfunctioned.

More than 10,000 e-tickets were being issued daily at the time.

PSCA Managing Director Kamran Khan told the media that the e-challan system would resume working next month.

According to sources, the company that had installed the project at a cost of billions of rupees had also taken responsibility of repair and maintenance of the infrastructure.

However, a dispute had arisen after the dollar exchange rate had increased drastically. It took years to break the deadlock.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 CCTV cameras became dysfunctional.

A Chinese company had agreed in June to fix the dysfunctional cameras installed on main roads of the provincial capital.

Punjab Police Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar had maintained that the maintenance work would begin after the required equipment would arrive on a ship.

He had said that 500 other cameras of the PSCA would be repaired through other means.

The official had said that activation of all the cameras would make the security monitoring of important roads and sensitive places more proficient.

The IG had said that the 6,500 cameras were expected to become fully functional by August.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2023.