BY AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
Evidence for over four hundred crimes was handed over to the police; six hundred and forty-four citizens accessed the Wi-Fi in different hot spots on Thursday (July 13, 2023); the Department of Transport fined over ten thousand people; and all this productivity from one room called the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), securely nestled in Altinho.
Information Technology (IT) is the buzzword and to proliferate the benefits of its uses is the objective of three Goans, all with BE degrees in IT, handling the IT cell of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL).
“The idea is not just to make life simpler but safer through the deployment of IT in everyday use of those capable of handling it,” says an engineer overlooking the embrace of technology with day-to-day living.
Panjim constituency is today connected through IT and controlled from one area where officers from the police, Transport Department and disaster management sit in one room 24/7.
The facility has been built in for this and can monitor traffic, crime, movement of buses and even the number of people utilizing the free Wi-Fi from five hundred access points
“Our staff goes to the centre during normal working hours and issue challans (fines) to people seen breaking traffic rules. At the moment, speeding and crossing signals are being penalised,” stated Sawant, the assistant director of Transport (North).
“We are yet to take a call on utilising the place 24*7, but I suppose the time will come when we will need to do so after we get additional footage of other rules being broken,” added Sawant.
The ICCC hub created at the InfoTech Corporation of Goa office in Altinho offers a platform for stakeholders monitoring traffic, CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi, solid waste management, smart parking, variable message displays and public announcement systems all clubbed together to give Panjim a smart look.
Three hundred and thirty-eight fixed box cameras have been hoisted and forty-four 360 cameras are installed in places based on the request of the police, traffic and Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), thus helping solve crimes faster and possibly deterring criminals.
Three hundred and thirty-eight fixed box cameras have been hoisted and forty-four 360 cameras are installed in places based on the request of the police, traffic and Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), thus helping solve crimes faster and possibly deterring criminals.
“The case of the robbery in the court in Altinho was cracked with the evidence obtained from the CCTV footage provided by the engineers manning the Smart City (IPSCDL) hub in Altinho,” disclosed a police official on condition of anonymity.
“The clarity of the images provided is amazing and their ability to determine the entry and exit of cars through various signals by just providing the registration number,” he added.
Free Wi-Fi hotspots, accessible with OTP, are available in public gardens, around the schools in Cujira, at bus stands and on important roads like DB Road and 18 June Road.
“The full operation of getting the city connected through IT cost Rs 214 crores, and Larsen and Toubro won the contract to operate and maintain for five years,” stated an IT engineer.
Free Wi-Fi hotspots, accessible with OTP, are available in public gardens, around the schools in Cujira, at bus stands and on important roads like DB Road and 18 June Road. Though the initial count of people using the hotspots was low, it has picked up, and 614 was the highest count on Thursday.
“People should look for the signage indicating the presence of Wi-Fi and log into their smartphones with the help of OTP,” disclosed an engineer looking after the Wi-Fi hotspots.
Panjim has been decked up with traffic signals, and many times most do not appear to work, creating long queues and delays where there should be none.
“The traffic police monitor the signals and determine when to keep the lights on and off. If there are no signals and the yellow signal is blinking, it is because the traffic police have decided to manually manage the traffic for reasons best known to them. We plan and execute and it is for the respective departments to implement,” stated an engineer supervising the functioning of monitors in the war room.
Entry to ICCC is restricted because of the nature of information being picked up by the centre. The Intelligent Traffic Management System at the hub helps the traffic police control the traffic through signals and will also help the flow of the metro buses once operational.
Entry to ICCC is restricted because of the nature of information being picked up by the centre. The Intelligent Traffic Management System at the hub helps the traffic police control the traffic through signals and will also help the flow of the metro buses once operational.
“In case there is an emergency and people need to be warned, the Variable Message Boards and public announcement systems fixed at prime locations will be made functional,” disclosed an engineer in the Data Centre.
The signals at Divja are not working because some department preparing for G20 cut through the cables and restoration work has started.
Engineers from Larsen and Toubro are always at hand and have been assigned an office below the hub, thus enhancing monitoring throughout the day.
“The signals at Divja – the entry point to Panjim from Ribandar – are not working because some department preparing for G20 cut through our cables and work to restore them has started,” stated an L&T staff member at the site.
The ICCC hub slotted in Altinho is discreetly designed by engineers of IPSCDL to observe, rectify and reach out to keep Panjim smart and safe.
