The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has requested the Mumbai Police to install CCTV cameras at around 90 flooding spots in the city. Of the 225 flooding spots in the city, these are the ones not covered by the existing CCTV cameras.
The Mumbai Police will soon be installing a new batch of cameras to expand their CCTV network.
Preparing for rain
The BMC had initially identified around 225 spots in the city that experience waterlogging every monsoon. There are other spots which cropped up recently and are under observation while some have been eliminated by taking various measures. Ahead of the monsoon, the civic body has been taking measures on a case-by-case basis for each of these spots.
A monsoon preparedness meeting held in the civic headquarters on Friday was attended by all stakeholders, including Mumbai Commissioner of Police Sanjay Barve, senior officials of Western Railway, Central Railway, BEST, MHADA, MMRDA, Navy, Army, IMD and NDRF.
In the meeting, the BMC reportedly requested the police to cover the flooding spots which have not been accounted for.
“There are about 90 flooding spots where we have no camera, and therefore, no vision. If it floods there, the information is relayed through the phone but we need eyes on the spot for better coordination with civic, police and fire agencies. That is why we have made the request,” said an officer from BMC’s disaster management department.
Positive response
The Mumbai Police have reacted positively to this demand. Deputy Commissioner of Police and spokesperson Manjunath Singe said, “Waterlogging is a concern for us as well, not just because of traffic but from every point of view. We will incorporate this demand in our list.” Mr. Singe said that the proposal to install these cameras will pick up pace after the elections.
The Mumbai Police have around 4,700 cameras across the city that are used to monitor traffic violations and blind spots. It now wants to add around 5,600 more cameras to its arsenal. A proposal to this effect was approved by the State Cabinet in January and will cost around ₹300 crore.
