NEW CRIME DETECTION TECHNOLOGY..

MUMBAI, INDIA: The Mumbai Police are undertaking a ambitious project to beef-up city's security by installing a network of 5000 closed circuit television (CCTVs) cameras across important locations in the city.

This security plan is one of the recommendation the Indian Merchants' Chambers (IMC) had suggested to the Government of Maharashtra after terror attacks rocked Mumbai, last year.

While speaking to CyberMedia News, IMC's chairman of Homeland Security and IT expert, Vijay Mukhi said, "IMC had made several recommendations about security of the city after the attacks happened last year and setting up a blanket security camera cover across the city was one of the recommendation to the state government."

He said IMC had interacted with Mumbai Police department, Maharashtra State government and politicians and explained the project to them. "We had suggested that the project will be funded by the industry for procuring CCTVs and other equipment," said Mukhi.

Mukhi is also on the Mumbai Police's Cyber Security Committee and opined that the government should set up the project on the lines of Delhi Metro Project and should be a listed entity so that it can function independently without any interference.

He said such plan should be replicated across major cities of India. "However, it's now on the government to decide," he opined.

Following the recommendation, the Chief Minister had formed an eight-member committee comprising four members from IMC and others from government and police department, which has been asked to submit an action plan within 15 days time for blanket security camera cover for Mumbai.

Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandan said that 5,000 cameras would be set up at all important locations in the city and would allow police officials to monitor all major events in these places from a command center in the control room at the police commissionerate. Sivanandan had discussed the project with Mukhi at IMC's base in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The police commissioner informed that the footage from the closed circuit cameras would be stored and retrieved to aid investigations in a particular event that wasn't noticed at the time of its occurrence.

The project will involve a private agency that will carry out the installation, maintenance and up-gradation of cameras, while the police department would control the system.

"Presently there are only 100 CCTV cameras which is not a big number but 5,000 would be adequate to cover the city. This would be a big leap in surveillance," Sivanandan said.

Mukhi said the installation of 5000 CCTV cameras across the city will take about a year's time.

Blogs

NEW CRIME DETECTION TECHNOLOGY..

Archana Ramasamy

Latest postings blogs by this author

More from Technology blogs