It could have otherwise taken some years from now to see traffic police personnel receiving traffic rule violation challan payments through credit, debit cards or through platforms like paytm.
However, the city traffic department has said that the same couldn’t be a surprise if it appeared on the roads as early as first months of the next year after in changed circumstances like this. Mild arguments for payment of traffic violation challan through cards have even started appearing, though negligible in numbers, in city since some days.
“After demonetisation of `1,000 and `500 notes, the message from the Government is clear that it wants to promote electronic mode of payments as much as possible. So, we will have to get equipped with card swipe machines at the earliest,” said Traffic SP Sanjay Ranjan Singh on Sunday. He added that soon to be approved new traffic rules would require the traffic violators to carry inflated purse, as the amount of fine suggested in new rules was exponentially high as compared what they were in current days.
“Once the new traffic rules are brought into existence, you might need to pay up to Rs. 10,000 for a couple of offences. The fact is that you don’t expect everyone to carry so much cash in purse all the time. But carrying a card is so much easy. So, we are bound to opt for an alternative of physical money sooner or later,” said Singh.
However, he said that even the earliest might not make it possible anytime this year. “Training of all the traffic men at red lights and round-abouts is the most important and tedious task for this. Then comes the process of sourcing of card swipe machines which includes tie-up with a bank and its synchronization with one account. We also have to provide training to our people for Digilocker, where people have started keeping their documents. So, we are planning to provide both the training to our men altogether,” said Singh.
The traffic police have intensified the checking drive to encourage and force bikers to wear helmet. Traffic police personnel were found trapping bikers with no helmet at a number of junctures in the city on Sunday. Singh said that after the visit of the President of India, which is scheduled on November 26, the helmet drive will be intensified.