It is mission accomplished for Jeth Nagar Residents Association’s (JERA). As part of Project Hawk, a one-year-old initiative to bring the entire neighbourhood under electronic surveillance, it has ensured installation of 28 CCTV cameras across eight streets.
“The initial hiccup was about who will monitor the footage centrally and manage the cost and how the wire connections will be configured. Then, after much deliberation, we decided that each street will maintain their own system,” says Ravi Nandyala, an active member of JERA.
Residents contributed towards the purchase of the cameras, which came at the price of ₹18,000 for every four cameras.
“Instead of association members from various streets, we approached the street champions, who participate actively in initiatives in their respective streets, to connect with individual members. We even gave the residents a receipt for the contribution. We fell short of the required amount. But, a few residents chipped in, providing more as we did not want the project to be a non-starter,” he says.
When residents of Pattamal Street volunteered to monitor the CCTV system on their street, residents of other streets followed suit. Once the team decided upon a strategic location in a street to place a camera, a resident from the street provides a space in their house to maintain the CCTV system and even lets the team use their Internet connection.
“I have configured all cameras to my smartphone. So, every morning, I monitor and inspect if all cameras are functioning,” says Ravi. JERA recently invited P. Saravanan, Mylapore DCP, and other officials to inspect the set-up and give suggestions.
“A month ago, there was a break-in in our neighbourhood. We handed over the footage of the incident to the police. To enhance the system further, we are planning to employ a private agency to monitor all 28 cameras and inform the police of any suspicious activity,” adds Ravi.
