The system utilizes unique QR codes for each vehicle that are displayed behind the driver’s seat. Passengers can simply scan the code with their smartphones. If they feel unsafe or encounter any problem during their journey, they can press the SOS button within the QR code system. This will instantly send an alert message with the vehicle’s location and other relevant details to the police control room. Additionally, passengers can directly call the emergency number 112 for immediate assistance.

This technology enables real-time tracking of the vehicle and facilitates a faster response from law enforcement agencies, especially during late hours or in less populated areas. The Chief Minister emphasised the importance of passenger safety and highlighted the government’s commitment to leveraging technology for better public services.

The Police are also collaborating with popular ride-hailing applications like Ola, Uber, and Rapido to integrate their emergency response systems with the police control room. This means that any distress call made through these apps will also be directly communicated to the police, allowing for swift action.

With over 89,000 auto-rickshaws operating within the city, this initiative is expected to significantly bolster passenger safety and create a more secure transportation environment in Chennai. The project is being rolled out in phases, with the initial focus on autos and taxis. The government plans to expand this system to other modes of public transport in the future.

The meeting was requested by residents Geeta Padmanabhan of Radhakrishnan Nagar and Santosh of Valmiki Nagar, and took place at the public gym in Sivakamipuram. The major complaint was the permanent parking of vehicles by residents on the road (due to lack of parking inside the premises) and the unauthorised parking by outsiders, thus obstructing the free flow of vehicles.

Issues raised by residents from Sivakamipuram and nearby localities were: the need to prevent vehicles entering Sivakamipuram from L.B.Road through Sivakamipuram, imposing one-side parking in Malaviya Avenue 1st Street (which has a gas agency) and swift action by traffic police when called to remove vehicles to carry out corporation work like road laying, tree-pruning and SWD desilting.

As far as Valmiki Nagar is concerned, residents requested patrolling in night hours and the need for additional speed breakers on Kottivakkam Kuppam Road and Balakrishnan Road.

Police official, Albert, assured to take action against the violators, made a note of the grievances and promised to do the needful.

The flag hoisting is on Aug.29 at 4.30 pm, followed by the Eucharistic chariot procession from and to the church via 6th Avenue (Elliot’s Promenade) → 3rd Main Road → 2nd Avenue → 7th Avenue. Similar Eucharistic processions will also held on Sep.1 and 7 at 5.30 pm. Diversions:

1. All vehicles from Thiru.Vi.ka Bridge, bound for Besant Nagar via Besant Avenue Road will proceed as usual. Only in case of heavy crowding or traffic congestion, those vehicles will not be allowed to enter Besant Avenue Road and will be diverted from Dr.Muthulakshmi Park towards L.B.Road → MG Road → Besant Nagar 1st Main Road → 1st Avenue (Besant Nagar bus depot) → 2nd Avenue Road, to reach the destination. Parking is available at: 

• Olcott Memorial Higher Secondary School;
• Aringar Anna Govt. Higher Secondary School;
• Besant Nagar 2nd Main Road;
• Besant Nagar 4th Avenue;
• Besant Nagar 1st Cross Street;
• Besant Nagar 17th Cross Street.

2. All vehicles coming from ECR / OMR via Thiruvanmiyur junction towards Adyar will proceed as usual. Only in case of heavy traffic congestion on L.B.Road, will vehicles be diverted towards TIDEL Park junction (OMR) to reach Kotturpuram or Adyar. Parking at Kalakshetra Foundation.

3. Besant Nagar and Sastri Nagar residents are advised to use their personal vehicle for essential purposes only on Aug.29 afternoon due to expected crowds and may also avoid visiting Elliot’s Beach.

The recent campaign ‘Zero is Good’ by Chennai Traffic Police has kindled the curiosity of motorists. However, discerning citizens would concur that it takes more to attain that magic figure than just responsible driving.

• Zero potholes – Chennaiites boast of living in the driest metro city, yet one spell of rain and, as if by magic, roads disappear and after a few hours reappear with a completely new face. Strangely, some potholes are the size of craters. One gets a feel of mountain biking even on plains. In contrast, roads in Bali are akin to airport runways. They make suspension on vehicles superfluous. Why not concretise the roads that are prone to frequent wear and tear? Deploy the Flying Squad road patch-up crew to fix the potholes within a few minutes after their appearance. Potholes are easier to spot than loopholes, isn’t it?
• Zero roads without footpaths – As recently as last week, an intercity bus whizzed past on the ECR barely missing my right arm by an inch. I think, more than anything else, it’s providence that saved me from a ghastly accident. The cardinal questions are, ‘Has the outlook of road development authorities widened along with the proposed widening of roads? Has the space for pedestrians been factored in?’ it’s a problem of too much walkway (at Pondy Bazaar) or too little of it (at Durgabai Deshmukh Road) where walking is a near tight-rope experience. One has to be an equilibrist to navigate ultra-narrow sidewalks. Remember, as with everything else, moderation is key.
• Zero cars on Monday – Roads during non-peak hours are no different from those during peak hours. If every Monday is declared as ‘No Cars Day’, we can give roads a respite from handling lakhs of 1600-odd kilos of eco-unfriendly vehicles. We can relive the joys of days immediately after independence when the tarmac was, thankfully, visible compared to the present where every inch of the road is occupied by slow-moving traffic. With cars off the roads, it will be easier for Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to manage traffic and undertake road repair projects.
• Zero unmarked speed breakers – It’s next to impossible to discern speed breakers, especially on dimly lit roads. Why wait for an untoward incident to paint the speedbreakers? If tons of paint can be spent beautifying the Napier’s Bridge like a chessboard, it’ll take only a fraction of it to make the speed breakers conspicuous to the young and old alike.

Zero would be better when it encapsulates a broader meaning of the term and is not merely restricted to accidents.

The Centre of Excellence for Road Safety (CoERS), IIT Madras, is working with the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) on multiple capacity and capability improvement programs. As many as 69 investigating officers (IOs) have been upskilled in performing scientific crash investigations to identify the root causes of the crashes. A total of 40 children and 80 schoolteachers and parents were introduced to gamified activity-based learning of road safety to improve their knowledge and cognition on being an informed road user. 

The awareness campaign for ‘Zero Accident Day ‘(ZAD) was inaugurated at the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) Depot by R.Sudhakar, IPS – Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), in the presence of Dr.Alby John Varghese, IAS – Managing Director of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Professor Venkatesh Balasubramanian – Head of CoERS, Bandi Gangadhar, IPS – Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) South, P-Kumar – Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) North and V.Baskaran – Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) East. 

CoERS organised capacity-building workshops at IIT Madras to drive activity-based learning (ABL) on road safety rules, signages and etiquette for MTC bus drivers, school children, teachers and traffic wardens. In Addition, GCTP has engineered several initiatives at the community level, such as engaging the vibrant youth as stakeholders, reel-making competitions and several flashmobs as part of the campaign.  

Programmes are also underway to engage other sections of society including sensitising e-commerce platforms and their staff, IT firms, and engagements with hospitals, auto-rickshaw drivers, residential associations and slums. Activities to incentivise compliance with road rules such as traffic signals, seatbelts, helmets and stop line programmes are also a part of the Zero Accident Day campaign.

This entire month of the Zero Accident Day (ZAD) campaign by GCTP will be about road safety education and awareness for all road users in Chennai at all age levels. Several activities at the community level, schools, colleges and IT parks are planned in Chennai as an endeavour towards making Chennai roads safe.

• No entry for vehicles into Kamarajar Salai (between Labour Statue to RBI Subway and Rajaji Sala and Flag Staff Road);
• To reach Parrys Corner from Rajaji Salai, take a diversion via Wallajah Salai, Anna Salai, Muthusamy Bridge, Muthusamy Road, R.A. Mandram and NFS Road;
• To reach Kamaraj Salai from the Secretariat, take a diversion via Parrys Corner, NFS Road, R.A. Mandram, Muthusamy Road, Muthusamy Bridge, Anna Salai and Wallajah Road;
• To reach Parrys Corner from Flag Staff Road, take a diversion via Muthusamy Bridge, Muthusamy Road, R.A. Mandram, NFS Road;
• To reach  Kamarajar Salai from Flag Staff Road, take a diversion via Anna Salai, Wallajah Road.

These innocent kids were being exploited by their mothers for begging.  The police promptly intervened, ensuring their safety. The children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee and then reunited with their mothers after a stern warning.  

The police look for support from the public in their tireless efforts to protect our children and request the public to similar inputs to them.

In his first press conference after taking charge, he stated his priorities for the city.

Stating, “Chennai is not new to me,” he said that his priorities were resolving issues pertaining to law and order, crime prevention measures, traffic problems, control of rowdyism, connivance in the police department, and katta panchayat.

Talking to reporters, he stated, that though incidents of murders had substantially reduced since the year 2022 – 2023, the police will focus on bringing down the numbers further, mainly by controlling rowdyism. “They will be spoken with, in the language they understand,” he stated.

He however refused to comment on the murder of BSP Tamilnadu State-unit President, K.Armstrong, on July 5. His transfer comes a few days after the murder.

Curbs on drugs would also be pertinent, he said and added that he does not believe in bringing new schemes each day, “Everyday regular professional policing is important to bring down crime and the same would be implemented.” He encouraged the police force to follow the same.

This 1998 batch IPS officer, was earlier the ADGP of Law and Order, apart from being the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Anna Nagar and St. Thomas Mount, and the Joint Commissioner of Police and Additional Commissioner of Traffic. During this stint, he has been credited with introducing the cashless e-chalan payment system for traffic violations, which won the Skoch Award (Governance Gold), in 2019. He also introduced the Traffic Regulation Observed Zone’ (TROZ 1) across five junctions in Anna Nagar to automatically observe traffic violations. In the first 24 hours, 90,000 violated vehicle numbers were captured and automatically intimated to the traffic control room.

A thief in the guise of a food delivery man was frequenting our apartment on three days – June 13, 14 and 16. After making an entry in the inward register, he left the premises in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Soon, we discovered that he was stealing the brass components of the firehose from each floor. This came to light through the various CCTVs installed in our complex.

A complaint was registered with the J6 Police Station, Thiruvanmiyur, on June 16. 

The crime branch Police team promptly came to the location and started the investigation with CCTV footage. Soon the team nabbed the culprit and recovered the items.

The items were handed over to us on July 2 accompanied by the team. We would like to place on record the swift and sincere efforts of the police team and appreciate their prompt resolution of the case.

Kudos to all the police personnel of J6 Police Station, Tiruvanmiyur. Their positive action under the dynamic leadership of Inspector Malathy, assisted by SI Gopal, SI Balaraman, Head Constable Parthasarathy, Constable Lenin and  Pandian deserves all the credit.

The police advised all residents also to install CCTV cameras on their premises.

“When there is a medical emergency of any kind, assistance will be given right away; for legal matters or insurance concerns, it will take 72 hours to receive assistance. We have teamed with top court advocates and medical professionals who will assist senior individuals based on their specific needs. We are also partnered with NGOs and volunteers to offer psychological counselling if the senior citizens feel lonely or are going through any personal issues,” says a member from team Bandham.