VISAKHAPATNAM: The traffic signals on the National Highway passing through the city stop functioning very often due to poor maintenance, while others are not powered by solar panels. On Monday, there was chaos at traffic junctions during the peak hours in the morning as some traffic lights did not work. The smart signal with CC TV camera project was planned about four years ago and the contract was awarded to a Hyderabad-based firm Stanpower under a BOT (build operate transfer) basis. The contract was under a tripartite agreement between Stanpower, the police and the GVMC.

The project began in 2013 but faced a major hiccup when 24 of its smart signal poles and CCTV cameras were da-maged by Cyclone Hudh-ud in 2014. GVMC terminated the contract midway due to the inordinate delay by the private party to wrap up the project. “Apart from the Maddilapalem and Birla junctions, traffic signals were not functioning at many crossroads while I was going to the office in the morning. Some of them started working in the evening,” said Mr P. Abhishek, a government employee.

“Vehicular traffic is increasing and the traffic signals need to be properly maintained. There were plans to synchronise the lights but that didn’t happen. We are facing a lot of inconvenience during office hours,” he said. The GVMC is planning to install the smart signal system under the Smart City project. “The municipal corporation is now maintaining the traffic lights. However, it is difficult to execute the work alone so the problem will be solved when the smart signal project is implemented or maintenance is assigned to a private player. This will help to sort out technical glitches within a short time. A few traffic posts are solar powered so they stop working when the sky is cloudy,” said a senior traffic police officer, Mr K. Prabhakar.