The Indian Express 03.08.2012
city anchor: Uniform CCTV network for all districts soon, says Satej Patil
In the wake of Wednesday’s low-intensity serial blasts, the state
government is planning to install uniform CCTVs with similar
configuration connected to control rooms in each district.
As per the proposal by Minister of State for Home Satej Patil,
guardian ministers of each district will pitch in with funds and
district collectors would also make allocations for it through the
District Planning and Development Council (DPDC).
“I will hold a meeting with the IT department for an integrated
system. We have CCTVs of different configurations at different places.
We are looking at a uniform system that will be integrated and connected
to the police control room of each district. This will make collating
information easy. In the Pune blasts, there were some private CCTVs and
some installed by the municipal corporation. Had they been uniform and
integrated and connected to the control room, it would have been easier
for police,’’ said Patil.
He said all the district collectors and guardian ministers had given the go ahead for the project.For Pune, 350 CCTV cameras have been proposed and Patil wants
them installed at road intersections to track traffic movement and catch
offenders, besides enhancing security. “The integration will help
gather information. It should be connected to the Mumbai control room
from all the districts,’’ he added.
He said all the district collectors and the guardian ministers
have agreed to part with funds and the proposal will be taken up as
early as possible.Months ago, he had called for the Pune district administration to
fund the project with allocation from the annual district plan, but the
administration had stated the nod for the CCTV project had come much
after the annual plan for 2010-11 was cleared (in November) and they did
not have extra funds to carry the proposal forward.
Now, with both DPDC and the guardian minister funds coming, the CCTVs
could be installed as planned. The uniform CCTVs will definitely be
useful for any footage that is needed and will give real-time data, as
in Bangalore.
After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the home department had
decided to fit Internet protocol based video surveillance cameras at
malls, airports, railway stations and traffic junctions of Mumbai. The
system helps transfer data through high-speed cables addressing security
needs and helping in effective traffic management.
The Mumbai project estimated at Rs 150 crore was cleared in the
annual budget and involved 1,500 fixed-dome stationary cameras, 400
pan-tilt-zoom cameras that can be moved in two axes and 15 long-range
thermal-imaging cameras for night vigil on the coast. “The Pune project
was to be similar to the Mumbai one, except that these would be at
traffic junctions alone,’’ said a senior home department official.