Your cars will keep getting stolen!

With the ever-growing lawlessness in the metropolis, the Sindh government is yet to launch the IT-based vehicle monitoring and interception system to track and recover lost/snatched vehicles besides improving the law and order situation, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Taking advantage of the authorities’ apathy, private car tracking companies have been successfully running their business in the major cities of Karachi, Sukhhar and Hyderabad, sources said.

The private companies are doing roaring business based on the extreme insecurity faced by a common man, they said, adding the car tracking firms, providing satellite-tracking facilities, were not only charging subscription charges on monthly basis but also depended on the GSM systems which did not work across the country.

The car tracking system used by the private companies also bypass the law enforcement agencies, specially the police.

In year 2006, the Sindh government had approved the vehicle monitoring and interception system (VMIS) project, which was later followed by the Punjab government as well, and it was working successfully there, the sources added.

The sources further commented that both the private sector tracking companies as well as police were reluctant to initiate this project as the work load of the police would be doubled after the car tracking system. The VMIS has been designed by the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra).

The VMIS is a ground-based tracking system. Besides extirpating vehicle-related crimes, it will also help the city administration regulate and manage traffic flow during peak hours and particularly in an emergency situation. This car tracking system is meant to help the law enforcers to contain the vehicles theft and tax collection authorities to grab the tax-evading vehicles, the sources added.

Under the project, a central vehicle registration system was supposed to be set up for identification of all vehicles irrespective of the province and all the manufacturers and importers were also to be registered.

For overcoming the vehicle’s theft, a passive windshield radio frequency sticker would be used as a transponder for vehicle identity number. The radio frequency infrared readers placed at designated highways and roads will read the VIN, they further said.

The tracking system would be supported by NADRA’s existing network and data warehouse infrastructure, the only countrywide platform available to provide connectivity and information access to all the provinces through one common database.

The system provides not only the current location of a vehicle but also its trail going back to several days as per the requirement of the law enforcers. Initially a VINTAG chip will be issued from 20 points to vehicle-owners and each of these outlets will have the capacity of registering approximately 1,000 vehicles a day. The number of vehicles in Karachi is put at 1.5 million.

It has been estimated that all vehicles existing in the province could be registered within four or five months. In order to obtain the chip in question, documents proving the identity of the owner of the vehicle including CNIC or vehicle documents in his/her name would be required whereas no chip will be issued to any vehicles with open letters.

All the checkpoints at major bridges and entry and exit points of towns would be equipped with trans-receivers and antennas to monitor movement of every vehicle and go through its data. Any car without a chip will be instantly identified by the system.

Under the project, it would be mandatory for every vehicle to get VMIS. All police check posts, major bridges and entry/exit points of towns will be equipped with trans-receivers and antennas to read the details of every vehicle. A suspect car whose VMIS chip has been removed will be identified instantly.

The VMIS will have a one time cost Rs 1200 per motor vehicle and Rs 350 per motorcycle with no monthly operating expenses, they said.