Times of
India: Kochi: Friday, September 06, 2019.
Only
four out of 99 surveillance cameras installed by police at various junctions in
the city are functional, according to an RTI reply provided by Kochi city
police.
The
RTI reply given to Kakkanad native Raju Vazhakkala stated that 95 cameras got
dysfunctional in five months, between July and December 2018.
The
four cameras, which are operational at present, are at Pallimukku and Thevara.
It further said that the city police have not submitted any report regarding
the dysfunctional cameras to the state government.
The
cameras installed in the city include 360-degree rotating Dome PTZ and fixed
cameras.
Sadly,
cameras at four important junctions - KSRTC stand, Vyttila Hub and outside
Ernakulam Junction and Town railway stations - do not function.
Valanjambalam
Junction, Jose Junction, Kadavanthara, NH Bypass at Palarivattom, High Court
Junction, Menaka Junction, Taluk Office, Kaloor Junction, Thevara police
station, Deshabimani Junction, Palarivattom, SN Junction, Judges Avenue,
Madhava Pharmacy Junction, Edappally Junction, Civil Station Junction, Kakkanad
bus station and Infopark Junction are other major spots where cameras have been
installed.
"Due
to the absence of operational surveillance cameras, city police have to rely on
cameras installed at private institutions whenever a crime occurs. Police
failed to get crucial leads in the murder case of Maharaja's College student
Abhimanyu M due to the lack of surveillance cameras," said Raju.
However,
city police said that absence of operational CCTV cameras is not an impediment
to crime investigation.
"Many
private institutions have cameras and police is using those for crime
surveillance. Many cameras had to be replaced when Kochi Metro works started.
Connections to the cameras were disconnected. We have resumed giving
connections to the cameras and they will be operations within a month. Besides,
around 500 cameras would be installed in the city under the SmartCity project.
Tender procedures for procuring cameras under the project are over. We have
identified 50 locations to be brought under Intelligent Traffic Management
System (ITMS). If anybody calls up 112, control room gets the location of the
caller, who is in urgent need of police support. As part of crime surveillance,
at a time around 100 police vehicles have been on patrolling duty in the city.
They can reach the spot within five minutes," said Kochi DCP G
Poonguzhali.
Keltron
installed the CCTV cameras nearly nine years ago for the surveillance
operations of the city police.
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