Bhubaneswar: The ambitious e-challan system aimed to enable police to collect traffic penalty through debit and credit cards and online banking is yet to see the light of day in the twin cities.

The proposal, which was mooted in May 2016, would enable traffic cops to issue challans on the spot using hand-held devices. The police said the devices would be integrated with a networking system to store a database of violators and connected to the central server of the police.

"Currently, we issue manual receipts to violators and it makes it impossible for us to ascertain their prior violations. Once the device is integrated with the software, we can access their past details," said a police officer. The software needed for integration with the devices is being prepared by the State Crime Records Bureau.

The police said strict enforcement of traffic was needed to prevent mishaps. Accident deaths have witnessed a 47 per cent increase in the past five years. Police statistics suggest that 70 people had died in accidents in Bhubaneswar in 2013. The figure went up to 103 in 2017.

The police said most times, the violators claimed that they did not have cash with them to compound the penalty. "Some others ask to pay the penalty through cards. In the absence of such devices, we are forced to let them go," said a senior police officer.

Police sources said the tender for procurement of the hand-held devices would be floated shortly.

"We are hopeful of introducing the system by this year. We have also decided to intensify traffic enforcement," said deputy commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, Anup Sahoo.