After several decades, Jammu getting back traffic signals by ending June

Delhi based company begins installation of system at 30 locations
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 18: After more than four decades, winter capital of the State is all set to get back traffic signals as a Delhi-based company has begun installation of system at 30 locations and would complete the task by the end of next month.
The traffic signals were first installed in Jammu in 1970s and remained functional only for a short-period. Thereafter no serious thought was paid towards this system, which was otherwise effectively managing the traffic in all the metro and various other cities of the country.
Now after more than four decades, the traffic signals are all set to be back and help in regulating vehicular traffic in the winter capital of the State and Delhi-based company Onnyx, which has already made operational such signals at five locations in summer capital of the State, has begun the installation of system at 30 locations in the length and breadth of Jammu.
“At present civil works are going on at several places and clear directions have been issued to the company to complete the work at all the 30 locations by the end of next month”, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation, Kuldeep Khajuria said.
The Director of the Delhi-based company, Pardeep Kaushik, who is personally supervising the installation of traffic signals in Jammu, said, “we are working well within the fixed time-frame and by ending June we will make traffic signals operational at all the 30 locations”.
The locations, where traffic signals are being installed are Satwari Chowk, Main Stop Gole Market, Green Belt Gandhi Nagar, Chattri Point, Bikram Chowk, Jewel Chowk, K C Crossing, Shakuntala Crossing, Medical College Crossing, Ambphalla, Canal Head, Bakshi Nagar Puli, Talab Tillo Chowk, BSF School Paloura, Radio Station Chowk, Library Chowk, Vigilance Rotary, Parade Chowk, Ranbireshwar Temple, Shalamar Chowk, Indira Chowk, Vivekananda Chowk, Shaheedi Chowk, Panama Chowk, Janipur Chowk, Roop Nagar, High Court, Kunjwani, Narwal and Bathindi Chowks.
The traffic signals will be based on micro-processor based controller software with LED lights and initially all the signals would be on stand alone mode, Mr Kaushik said, adding initially there will be separate control for junctions and they will be connected with each other at the later stage.
Responding to a question, he said, “in order to ensure that power crisis don’t hamper the functioning of the traffic signals, at each point there would be power back up”. He, however, said that traffic signals don’t consume much of electricity.
Director of Onnyx, which will also look after the maintenance part, said, “the traffic signals would run automatically as per the programming in the software and we would be able to change the same as per the requirement of the traffic police”, adding “there is a provision to regulate traffic even during the processions and festivals and for that we will have to only carry out some changes in the programming as per the schedule of the traffic police. Even junction wise changes can be made”.
In response to another question, he said that during the night hours, the traffic lights in those junctions which don’t witness much vehicular movement, traffic signals would be kept in the blinker mode for the convenience of the vehicle operators.
About the equipment and software being used in the installation of traffic signals, Mr Kaushik said, “European standard products are being used. Such products have already been used in many cities across the country”.
When asked, he said that company will provide brief training to the traffic police personnel in order to make them well versed with the new system. “It depends up on the Traffic Police Department as to how many personnel they want to get trained”, he added.