In the last one-and-a-half years, over 1,250 cameras have been installed at over 450 locations in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas. This is part of a safe city project, initiated by the state government. The number of cameras will only rise, as several private institutions like buildings, housing societies, shops and religious places plan to integrate their cameras with this network.
“Pune is a hub for IT, education, defence and the automobile industry in India. The city’s population has grown exponentially in recent years. Given this, the city police not only face the challenge of controlling petty crimes, but also have to deal with the reality of it being an attractive target for so many forms of subversive and terrorist organisations and anti social elements. The demand for CCTV cameras was felt especially following the German Bakery blast in 2010,“ said Girish Bapat, guardian minister for Pune.
Saurav Rao, district collector of Pune, said, “Crime and threats to security both call for a level of deterrence that can be established only when law enforcement agencies become better and manage to catch and prosecute criminals more effec tively. To this end, the CCTV network will act as a major deterrent. It will also boost the confidence of Punekars, and make them feel secure that the cops are watching their backs. The network will also help the smart city project, for which Pune has been nominated.“
Kunal Kumar Pathak, police commissioner, added, “All existing systems like GIS, crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS), VAHAN (with details of all vehicles) and the Pune Municipal Corporation’s intelligent traffic system (ITS) has been integrated with this network. The command and control centre is located on the commissioner’s office premises. The CCTV control room has one officer and 25 staff members to view live streaming of all real-time videos.They inform the local police stations if they notice any crime or traffic issues.The videos will also be monitored from police stations, zonal DCP office, PMC, PCMC and collector’s office.“
Joint commissioner of police, Sunil Ramanand, said, “The CCTV camera network is already being used for detection of crime in over 200 cases of chain snatching, murder, robbery and theft. Since June this year, we have issued challans to about 1,500 people, who were caught on camera violating traffic rules. A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been formulated to determine who should inform whom, in case of any crime as being noticed.“
The project will cost Rs 225 crore.The video footage will be stored for 90189 days. A private firm, ADSL, has been given the contract of looking after its maintenance for the next five years.
Source : Pune Mirror
