Corporation sets up control room for surveillance

The Tiruchi City Corporation has begun the groundwork to set up an Integrated Command and Control Centre at the civic body's main office on Bharathidasan Salai. The centre would have control of all Smart features, including surveillance cameras, smart street lights fitted in the city, senior officials said.

As an initial step, an Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) building is being constructed on the main office campus at a cost of ₹1.86 crore. An area of 8,000 square feet is being utilised to construct an exclusive centre for this purpose. A Tiruchi-based contractor has been roped in, and work to clear the area of bushes and weeds and rocks using an earthmover is underway.

Following the construction of the building, the implementation of the project would begin by May this year, a senior official of the civic body said. A plan of ₹ 12. 32 crore has been drawn up, and a five-year-contract has been handed over to a Coimbatore-based company for operations and management.

The implementation would involve a Command and Control Room with a video wall to monitor CCTVs across the city, a crisis management room with a helpline and an auxiliary support room.

In addition, the ICCC would control public Wi-Fi, an emergency call button, surveillance cameras, Public grievance system, smart street lights and drone-based monitoring, all of which are planned to be launched in the city. The project is being undertaken under the Smart Cities Mission.