The city’s ambitious AI-driven traffic management project, Systematic Augmented Radial Traffic and Hoop Induction (SARTHI), is expected to start delivering results within the next four to six months, said Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner Ketan Garg.
Addressing the media at a press conference on Monday, Mr. Garg said that the project is aimed at streamlining traffic movement across the city by deploying advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based technologies. Under Operation SARTHI, a total of 101 major junctions spread across 45 traffic corridors and road stretches will be brought under an integrated smart traffic management network.
The project will utilise AI-based Automatic Traffic Controller Systems (ATCS) to regulate traffic signals in real time, ensuring smoother vehicular movement and reducing congestion. It will also incorporate an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), which will automatically detect traffic violations, including red-light jumping, using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.
In addition to traffic regulation, the system will feature facial recognition capabilities to help the police monitor the movement of suspects, thereby strengthening crime detection and aiding preventive policing.
Mr. Garg said the project was estimated to cost ₹60 crore. Of this, ₹20 crore will be funded by the GVMC, while another ₹20 crore will be contributed by the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA). The VMRDA has already released ₹10 crore towards the project. The remaining ₹20 crore is proposed to be mobilised through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
The Commissioner said the annual maintenance cost of the system is estimated at around ₹10 crore. Revenue generated through traffic violation challans will be utilised to meet the maintenance expenses. A Delhi-based company has been entrusted with the implementation of the project.
He said the preliminary survey for the project has already commenced, and officials from the city police and the GVMC recently carried out a joint inspection of key junctions and road stretches.
The SARTHI project will have a dual control room system. The primary command centre will function from the Police Control Room, while the GVMC’s Command and Control Centre will serve as a backup and dashboard monitoring facility, he said.
Although the official implementation timeline is 12 months, Mr. Garg said the authorities are making efforts to complete the project within six months. Within four months, the project may start functioning at a few junctions, he concluded.
