With many walkers complaining about increasing incidence of bike theft and stealing of valuables from two-wheelers parked outside various parks, the Chennai Corporation has decided to install CCTV cameras outside public gardens in the city.
Thousands of walkers use the 569 parks maintained by the the Corporation and others maintained by private firms. Many walkers use two-wheelers to reach parks.
One walker who lost his purse was Prabhu, who goes for walks at Nageswara Rao park in Mylapore. “Recently, I went for a walk at around 5 p.m. I parked my scooter near the entrance gate at the Luz Avenue side,” he recalled. When he came out after an hour, he came to know that someone had stolen the purse of a woman that she had kept inside the luggage compartment of her two-wheeler.
“After helping her out, I came to my bike and found that my purse had been stolen too,” he added.
Similar was the situation in Anna Nagar Tower park until three months ago. “There used be at least four bike theft complaints every month. We installed 10 CCTV cameras around the park. After this, the number of crimes being reported reduced drastically,” said a police officer from Anna Nagar police station.
Security guard needed
Walkers at Aringar Anna Park in Royapuram said that the civic body should employ a security guard for the parking area. “It is difficult to walk peacefully as I remain concerned about my bike,” said K. Abdullah, a regular walker.
A senior police officer said that patrolling will be increased around the parks. Corporation officials said that under the smart city project eight parks will get CCTV cameras.
“For the other big parks also, we will be installing cameras. The footage will be shared with the police whenever they need them,” said a senior official.
