Poor internet connectivity in offices under the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) in Ernakulam has slowed down the use of web-based ‘Vahan’ software aimed at automating various operations under the Regional Transport Office.
The offices under the MVD use network connectivity under the Kerala State Wide Area Network (KSWAN). According to senior department officials, the average network speed under KSWAN in majority of offices was under 10 Mbps on most days. “We need at least 100 Mbps speed for an office having at least 10 to 20 computers. The situation turns worse in offices where the staff strength is more than 50,” they said.
MVD officials pointed out that they had to log on to Vahan portal umpteen times daily for a variety of services, including registration and ownership or transfer of all vehicles. It is enabled with e-payments of taxes, fees, and uploading of all scanned documents onto a centralised server.
All the user processes are done via OTPs sent to the registered mobile number of the user.
“On an average, we used to complete 100 temporary registrations on the portal daily. There are hundreds of other purposes for which we need good internet speed. Most of the work gets delayed due to lack of internet speed in most offices,” they said.
With poor internet connectivity slowing down works, a few offices are now planning to enable the fibre optic broadband connectivity offered by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
“The speed is expected to go up to 40 to 50 Mbps after adding BSNL’s fiber optic broadband. The idea is to use the BSNL broadband along with KSWAN connectivity. At least half of the systems can use BSNL broadband to improve the efficiency of services being offered to the public,” according to a senior official.
Senior MVD officials admitted that they were still getting used to the various applications under the Vahan software.
“Even though we were given training, the processes can be learnt only by trial and error method and by continuously working on the new platform,” they said.
