Last month, the Ambattur police installed a pair of CCTV cameras at the entrance of their station to monitor movement of people on Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road, especially the busy area around a traffic island. It’s significant that the move came on the heels of a petrol bomb attack on the Teynampet police station.
The Ambattur police had done well by taking a lesson from the incident. There is one more lesson that could be taken from it.
Following the petrol bomb attack on the Teynampet police station, it came to light that the CCTV cameras were past their sell-by date. As a result, retrieving the footage from the cameras was a challenge. So, police stations and associations or individuals installing CCTV cameras should pay attention to the fact these equipment have to be maintained and when the times arrives, replaced.
Every day, on an average, 20,000 vehicles ply on CTH Road, which is maintained by the State Highways Department.
“The area around the traffic island in front of the Ambattur police station is busy. Vehicles from various suburban localities that enter and exit the city, go through this spot. So, in addition to the policemen personnel, these cameras will ensure effective surveillance of the area,” said police sources.
The cameras are mounted on both sides of a pole that bear the station’s nameboard. They can track movement of people and vehicles for a distance of around 500 metres. They are said to have an impressive storage capacity and picture resolution.
Visuals from the cameras will be monitored by beat policemen at a central monitoring room at the station.
In the Ambattur police district, which falls under West Police Zone of Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate, there are 15 police stations, which include the Ambattur police station. Korattur, Ambattur Industrial Estate, Avadi, Muthapudupet, Thiruverukadu, Mangadu, Kundrathur and Poonamallee are among areas where the other stations are located.
Of these, Thirumullavoyal, Ambattur and Villivakkam police stations are located on CTH Road. However, CCTV cameras have been installed only at Ambattur police station as it is found in a strategic location, connecting the western outskirts of Chennai with the rest of the city via CTH Road and Kilpauk Garden Road.
“The acts of crime recorded by such cameras can be evidence in the court. Besides this, the mere presence of such surveillance devices will deter antisocial elements from carrying out criminal acts in the vicinity,” said T. Gunaseelan, a longtime resident of Ambattur.
The cameras installed at the Ambattur police station can also be useful in recording traffic violations at the junction.
Taking advantage of the defunct traffic signal at the junction and width of this section of CTH Road, motorists heading in the direction of the Ambattur police station accelerate their vehicles once they cross a bridge before the junction.
At the same time, motorists coming from Athipet also try to take a right turn at the junction and proceed down CTH Road, resulting in traffic chaos, especially during rush hour. Making use of the chaos, motorcyclists cross the junction despite a ‘no-go’ sign having been installed by the traffic policemen, thereby risking pedestrians.
“Earlier, the policemen had to run behind vehicles engaged in traffic violations at the junction. Now, the cameras record the violations and have made our job easier,” said a policeman.
