That the city shall be brought under the coverage of surveillance cameras was decided after the crucial lead in last year’s Dilsukhnagar blasts came in the form of video footage.
A year after two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) went off at Dilsukhnagar, killing 17 persons, nothing much has been done about installing surveillance cameras in the city. The CCTVs were supposed to be installed on the Hyderabad Traffic Integrated Management System (HTRIMS) poles and linked to the central monitoring centre through a single internet service provider.
Past experiences have proved that cameras were getting damaged owing to poor power supply. Hence, the traffic police proposed provisions for an integrated power supply to the cameras and the HTRIMS equipment at each junction.
But, the HTRIMS project is limping due to lack of coordination among various agencies involved in the execution of the project, a police officer said. As a part of the project, underground electrical cables were to be laid at all junctions to provide quality and continuous power supply.
“The GHMC has to give clearance to lay these underground power cables at junctions. But, this project is hanging fire, as tenders are yet to be called to expedite the process,” the officer added.
Apart from unreliable power supply, CCTVs were also frequently rendered unusable, thanks to unreliable internet providers and involvement of multiple servicing agencies, as the cameras were supplied by different companies over a period of time.
The problems associated with the installation of CCTVs will not be resolved till the HTRIMS project is completed in all its aspects, the official said.
