The clamour for installing more Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to monitor the city follows each tragedy that befalls it. But Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Amit Garg believes it is important that existing ones be made operational before new ones are purchased.
Extant facilities
There are about 355 CCTV cameras in the city, a majority of which are not functional due to the ongoing signal upgradation work under the Hyderabad Traffic Integrated Management System (H-TRIMS) project.
However, not all cameras were functional even prior to the start of the H-TRIMS project.
“Lack of proper power source and intermittent connectivity were some of the major reasons for failure of CCTV cameras. We want to rectify these problems as soon as possible. A blue print is being prepared to create a ‘fail-safe’ model,” Mr. Garg said.
To start with, all CCTV cameras at each junction will have their own power connection that includes a UPS and its own meter to monitor the power consumption.
Power woes
“There is a lot of discrepancy in power connections and we are not sure about the source of power for more than half the cameras. Cameras used to get damaged due to frequent voltage fluctuations and power cuts and this single power source, secured through [an] underground cabling system, would address this problem,” the top cop explained.
The single source of power can also be used as a console where police personnel can use public address systems and also charge their radio communication sets.
Another step that Mr. Garg wants to take up is to ensure that all cameras are connected through one single network.
“By connecting all cameras through a single network and service provider we can ensure that the connectivity problems are addressed promptly,” he observed.
However, CCTV cameras can be installed only once H-TRIMS poles and signal aspects come up. And since the infrastructure is being revamped, now is the correct time to make arrangem-ents after a through deliberation, Mr. Garg added.
