Vijayawada police launch drones, two wheelers to modernize traffic management
2
Vijayawada: In a significant move to modernise traffic management and enhance urban surveillance, director general of police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta and Vijayawada city police commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu launched 14 drones and 45 specially designed two-wheelers for the traffic police on Thursday.
The new tech-driven initiative was officially launched at the police commissioner's office in Vijayawada. The drones, equipped with flashing LED lights, will now hover over major intersections such as Ramesh Hospital junction, monitoring traffic congestion and violations in real time.
"These drones will be deployed in high-traffic zones across the city to assist in efficient traffic regulation and spot violations quickly," said CP Rajasekhar Babu.
He added that the goal is to reduce congestion without burdening traffic personnel.
Each of the 14 traffic police stations in the NTR commissionerate will receive one drone. The drones will support the police in managing traffic during peak hours and during VVIP movements, where roadblocks and random halts often cause major inconvenience.
Along with aerial surveillance, the city's traffic cops are also equipped with 45 new two-wheelers.
These specially designed vehicles come with flashing lights, loud sirens, and microphones for real-time announcements and public warnings.
"These bikes will enable swift movement of traffic personnel to congested areas, ensuring quicker response and better control," said the commissioner.
The bikes and drones are part of a broader plan to modernise policing and minimise traffic disruptions across Vijayawada. Officials hope the combination of ground mobility and aerial surveillance will significantly improve traffic flow and enhance public safety.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Hans India
‘Super Six' poll promises superhit, says CM Naidu
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the 'Super Six' set of poll promises made by the TDP-led NDA in the state was a 'superhit'. Addressing the gathering after hoisting the national flag as part of the 79th Independence Day celebrations, Naidu said that with a 94 per cent strike rate, Andhra people created a "silent revolution" and brought the NDA to power in the state in the 2024 polls. "The coalition government is a government for the poor. We are spending thousands of crores of rupees to raise the living standards of the people and uplift the poorer sections through welfare schemes," said Naidu. During the last one year, with focus on welfare, development, and good governance, the NDA government got great satisfaction in serving the people, he noted. "I am saying this today with humility and pride. The coalition government is offering unmatched welfare assistance. There is no obstacle to development. There are unprecedented efforts for good governance. This is a record. This is an all-time record," he said. "We have made our main election promises, the Super Six, a super hit. We have given a new definition to welfare governance by supporting ewvery community, every region, every family, and every citizen," he said. The Chief Minister said that technology was the game changer for the state. 'Efforts are on to attract investment and give boost to promote technology and industries in the state'. Chandrababu Naidu said the governments were not just about meeting the immediate needs of the people; they must also provide a golden future and create opportunities. 'For this, any government or leader must work with a vision.' Observing that the 'dream capital city' of Amaravati had been restarted with the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naidu said the government was working towards shaping it as a world class capital. The Chief Minister recounted: 'In 1995, we spoke about IT, promoted it, and showed results. Today, in 2025, we are talking about a Quantum Valley and using AI in governance. We are bringing radical changes to public services using DataLake and AWARE. Amaravati will become the Quantum Valley of the country, like the Silicon Valley in the US. The Quantum Computing Valley services will commence from January 2026. IT and data centers are coming to north Andhra. We are bringing defence, space, aerospace, drone, automobile, and electronics industries to Rayalaseema'. Chandrababu Naidu continued: 'We are working for the development of all regions. We have introduced 6 new policies to attract investments in the IT and electronics sectors. Major IT companies like Google, TCS, and Cognizant have come forward to invest in Andhra Pradesh. We are establishing the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub in Amaravati. Hubs are being set up in Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Anantapur under a hub-and-spoke model.' 'We are establishing a 'Global Leadership Center' in Amaravati. We have extensively integrated technology into public administration. We have brought innovation to governance through WhatsApp governance 'Mana Mithra', providing 700 citizen services. I am reminded of the words of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, 'Society is the temple, people are the Gods'. We are following in his footsteps.' The Chief Minister highlighted the polices of the coalition government explaining the progress of irrigation projects, development of infrastructure, including ports, giving priority for education, medical and health, and implementation of NTR Vaidya Seva. He said that the AP government was working towards building 'Swarnandhra' as part of the Viksit Bharat -- the aim of PM Narendra Modi. Billing Polavaram Project as the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, Naidu promised to complete it by December 2027. To make Rayalaseema fertile, Naidu said the state has decided to divert surplus Godavari water from Polavaram to Banakacherla, using only the water that would otherwise flow wastefully into the sea. The Chief Minister slammed the previous YSRCP government for allegedly pushing the state into debts. Naidu alleged that the previous YSRCP government destroyed the state over the past five years and tarnished the state's brand image. The state plunged into a debt of Rs 10.30 lakh crore, he said.
Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Indian Express
RVNL targets to launch first Vande Bharat Sleeper train prototype in June 2026; to deliver full 120 train sets by 2032
Vande Bharat Sleeper trains: The Ministry of Railways is working in full swing to ramp up the production of Vande Bharat Sleeper trains. For this, the national transporter awarded the contract to manufacture Vande Bharat Sleeper trains to three companies: BEML, Kinet Railway Solutions (a Joint Venture between Russian rolling stock major TMH and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited – RVNL) and a consortium of Titagarh Rail Systems Limited and Bharat Heavy Engineering Limited (BHEL). Of these, the RVNL-led JV is set to manufacture 120 Vande Bharat Sleeper train sets. The company is expected to unveil the first prototype in June 2026. 'All the roadblocks have been cleared and now it is in advance designing stage and production has started in Latur factory. And we hope to see the first prototype in June '26. And after that, the regular production will start,' MP Singh, Director-Operations, RVNL said, according to an exchange filing. Once the trials are successful and proving trials are held and the prototype is cleared, the regular production will start. 'So, in the next financial year, that is Financial Year '26-27, along with the prototype, we expect to see the regular production of the train sets also,' he said in an earnings conference call on August 12. Speaking during the earnings conference call, Pradeep Gaur, Chairman and Managing Director, RVNL said that the order of 120 train sets will be concluded by 2032. '2032, 5 years total. There is a break up of year wise,' Gaur said, while responding to a question, according to a regulatory filing.
Mint
17 hours ago
- Mint
Bhavish Aggarwal sets bold targets on I-Day fifth year in a row, but delivery remains patchy. Here's Ola's track record
Mumbai: Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric, which makes key product and strategy announcements on the eve of Independence Day every year, on Friday said the company is eyeing a new motorcycle called Diamondhead by mid-2027 that would 'revolutionize" the industry, even as it grapples with missed targets, scaled-down ambitions and a volatile stock since its debut last year. The company aims to deck the motorcycle with its in-house artificial intelligence (AI) chips, battery cells, airbags and new materials, with a target price of ₹5 lakh. Aggarwal called the motorcycle, which was first showcased as a concept two years ago, Ola Electric's new moonshot project. 'We showed you a concept two years ago. Many people thought it would remain a concept. But here it is – it has become a prototype now," a white kurta-clad Aggarwal said at an event at Ola Electric's factory at Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu on Friday. While the markets will price the announcements into the company's stock on Monday, Ola's record of delivering on its 15 August promises and ambitions over the past four years has been patchy. The company achieved some of its targets, albeit with significant delays, but it has also abandoned or scaled down many others. For instance, a determined Aggarwal made a bold pitch in his first Independence Day announcements in 2021 that Ola Electric would lead an EV-revolution, phasing out the sale of new petrol two-wheelers from India by 2025. In fiscal year 2025 (FY25), petrol two-wheelers continued to rule the roost, with electric vehicles accounting for just 5.8% of all two-wheeler sales. However, Ola Electric did lead the pack in electrification of two-wheelers, accounting for almost 30% of the 1.1 million such vehicles sold in FY25. In August 2022, the company promised to set up a battery innovation centre to make the cells that power its vehicles in-house. The centre was built in time and, despite some delays, the company has managed to start the production of its 4680 Bharat Cell by April this year. But the company is yet to ship any vehicles fitted with these cells, running several months behind schedule. On Friday, Aggarwal said that deliveries of Ola scooters fitted with in-house cells will start by late September. Some of Aggarwal's promises were too ambitious to even partly deliver. For instance, he promised in his 2022 address that the company will have an electric car by 2024. The project has been put on indefinite hold. The company also scaled down some of its ambitions. For instance, it said in August 2024 that it would ramp up the annual cell production capacity to 20 gigawatts by 2026 and 100 gigawatts by 2030. However, the plan was later scaled down. Now the company will keep its cell manufacturing capacity - starting at 1 gigawatt this fiscal - limited to 5 gigawatts till at least 2029. On Friday, Ola also unveiled India's first indigenously developed ferrite motor that uses no rare-earth magnets, which will help it overcome the crisis triggered by China restricting its export of rare-earth magnets. These magnets are crucial for making motors for EVs. The motors will power Ola's vehicles starting from the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (Q3FY26), the company claimed. The integration of cells, motors and other key components in-house helps the company eke out better margins, Aggarwal said. 'I want to tell the street that we are making a lot of money from these products. The advantage of doing all these technologies in-house is that we make a lot of margins." Other key announcements on Friday include the launch of S1 Pro Sport, the most powerful Ola scooter till date. Deliveries are planned to start next January. The company did not give any significant updates on its AI and chip-making plans, which were one of the key highlights from Ola's independence day announcements last year. The runup to this year's Ola Sankalp 2025 was a period of uncertainties for the start up. In February, the company terminated the contracts of two of its registration agencies, which led to a backlog of more than 16,000 vehicles for registrations, leading to delays in deliveries. The company was taken to the National Company Law Tribunal by one of the agencies, following which Ola settled the issue with the agencies. Since then, the company has been handling the registration process on its own. The delay in registrations and discrepancy of sales data with the government's Vahan data led to two ministries – heavy industries and road transport & highways – asking tough questions of the company. Amid all this, customer complaints against Aggarwal's company continued to appear on social media platforms due to service issues. Addressing servicing issues was made tough by state authorities in big markets like Maharashtra acting against the stores of the company. Last month, Maharashtra ordered shuttering of around 90% of the stores in the state owing to lack of trade certificates. The company denied receiving any such notification. The series of events that unfolded in the first eight months of this year has wiped out more than 50% of the company's share value. The Ola Electric stock, which listed on 7 August 2024, has touched a high of ₹157.53 and a low of ₹39.58 since then, compared to its offer price of ₹76 per share. It closed 2% higher on Thursday at ₹41.32.
