Many of the portable solar signals at major junctions in the city have been rendered useless due to “technical snags”. These eco-friendly mobile signal lights, installed only last year to supplement the existing signals during power cuts, have become under-performers.
“Problems caused by the signals at times are a real headache. The solar panels on top of the portable signals are not big enough to generatesufficient energy. So we have to charge them using electricity,” said a traffic cop near the Central Railway Station.
Rather than helping, these mobile signals have become a burden for the traffic police. A traffic constable near Anna Salai said, “I cannot predict when these signals will cause problems.
They suddenly stop working and sometimes all the signals will be on. The authorities gave us remote controls to operate them from a distance but that hardly works.” He added that the signals would be of great help if their faults were rectified.
Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Sanjay Arora admitted that the portable solar signals were not fully operational by solar energy. “They are no more portable solar signals; instead, they are now being used as mobile signals. These days they work with the help of electrically charged batteries.”
“The portable solar signal is a good eco-friendly initiative. Their glitches need to be addressed. At times, the visibility of these signals is poor even from 50 meters due to malfunctions,” complained B. Vigneshwari, a motorist.