Bhubaneswar: To enhance security of women and children while travelling in public transport vehicles, panic button and vehicle location tracking (VLT) device will be mandatory for all commercial and passenger vehicles plying in Odisha from June 1, sources in the Commerce and Transport department said on Sunday.
While all commercial vehicle owners will have to install the VLT, the passenger vehicles, except two-wheelers, E-rickshaw, three wheelers and any transport vehicles for which permit is not required under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, will have to be equipped with both VLT and panic buttons.
Vehicles without panic buttons and VLT devices would not be able to apply for registration. All vehicles, which will be registered by May 31, 2023, or registered till date, will have to comply with the order by August 31. In the absence of panic buttons and VLTs, the vehicles would not be issued renewal and fitness certificates, the sources added.
In pursuance of the direction issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2018 to ensure medical care reaches faster to the vehicles meeting an accident. the department had issued a notification in September last year, stating that vehicles registered on or after January 1, 2023 will have to comply with VLT and panic button at the time of registration and the vehicles registered on or before December 31, 2022 will have to comply by March 31, 2023.
An official said that the deadline had to be extended to June 1 as the department was short of necessary infrastructure.
Once installed, driver of a vehicle or any traveller in distress can press the emergency buttons and the signal will reach the control office. Necessary help can then be provided to the passengers especially women by tracking the vehicles. The devices will be tracked from the command and control room in Bhubaneswar.
