Guwahati: Integrated Traffic Management System fails to give Citizens a respite

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Integrated Traffic Management System, or ITMS, was initiated in Guwahati for proper vehicular management in the city and to bring some relief to the citizens who have to deal with massive traffic chaos every day. But even after such a long duration of its launch, ITMS still fails to provide any relief to people of Guwahati.

Designed to manage traffic seamlessly, the ITMS system  comprises a centralised traffic control station from which officials can monitor traffic across the city and take the necessary steps to ensure the smooth movement of traffic. The system was supposed to eliminate the need for traffic personnel manning junctions and decrease the need for manpower on the roads to handle unruly traffic, especially during peak hours. The central control station is connected to traffic lights across the city, which enables the officials to make the most accurate decisions based on real-time camera feeds.

But over time, the ITMS project proved to be nothing but a gimmick with no actual utilisation. Traffic lights continue to remain faulty in several parts of the city, and despite the presence of traffic lights, the presence of traffic police personnel at the junctions could not be eliminated owing to the lack of any concrete way to enforce the signs. At several points, the stop time is often unnecessarily high for the high-traffic lanes, causing traffic pileups and forcing officials to operate the system manually. Also, the ITMS, which was designed to give at least some rest to the traffic police personnel on the ground, fails to do its worth during the summer heat.

The conditions get way worse during and after heavy rains in the city. A large number of traffic lights become non-operative after rain, which often results in chaos, thus forcing traffic personnel to manually control the movement of vehicles. It has also been seen that in these conditions, even if the traffic lights remain functional, traffic police personnel are forced to bypass the same and divert traffic in other directions, especially preventing U-turns at some key junctions. Such incidents not only cause confusion among the citizens but also raise questions about the functionality of the ITMS.

 Also Read: Guwahati City with ITMS: An Initiative by Government of Assam (sentinelassam.com)

Also Watch: