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.
