Following the recent terrorist attack at the Delhi High Court premises, the State Government is firming up plans to bring the entire Bangalore city under 24x7 surveillance for effective monitoring and to curb crimes, particularly in densely populated locations.
Speaking to presspersons after inspecting the round-the-clock surveillance centre set up in the Vidhana Soudha on Saturday, Minister for Home and Transport R. Ashok said the Government was planning to install CCTV cameras in all parts of the city as well as high-resolution night cameras.
The Government would submit a proposal to the Centre as the latter has promised to fund the project by providing Rs. 500 crore.
Similar surveillance systems would be installed in Mysore, Hubli and Belgaum, he said.
The surveillance system, when functional, would help the police monitor crimes, track criminals, traffic violations and other incidents, he said.
The thickly populated areas of Bangalore such as City Market, bus and railway stations would have CCTV cameras, Mr. Ashok said. The gadgets would also be installed at the High Court to scale up security measures as per the advice of the Centre. CCTVs at lower courts would be installed at a later stage, he added.
The Minister said the police have instructed the owners of malls, IT companies, hotels, jewellery shops and banks to set up CCTV cameras in their establishments.
Asked about the blasts at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in April 17, 2010, the Minister said the police have furnished information on the culprits to the Centre.
Earlier, the Minister inspected the surveillance centre set up at the State Secretariat and reviewed its functioning.
The police have installed high-resolution cameras atop the Vidhana Soudha, which maintains constant vigil around the Secretariat building, including Raj Bhavan, Vikasa Soudha, Legislators' Home, High Court and other places.
Mr. Ashok said the Intelligence Transport System, implemented under the Sustainable Urban Transport Project, with the funding by the Union Government, is being launched in Mysore on Wednesday. The new system will enable the transport authorities to track the movement of buses.
