Police begin effort to make it safe with hi-tech CCTV cameras

Mohit Khanna

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 27

The city residents, who are reeling under increasing incidents of carjacking, snatching, robbery and accidents, can heave a sigh of relief as by the next year, the activities of anti-social elements will be captured by cameras to be installed under the Safe City project, an initiative of the local police.

Under the project, an intricate web of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be set up in the city. After the completion of the project, the police would be able to manage traffic and keep a close watch on anti-social elements.

As many as 70 high-resolution cameras would be installed at 25 locations in the first phase. The project, which was going on at a snail’s place, picked up pace following the Dinanagar terror attack.

The IG, Counter Intelligence, Pramod Ban, also previous Police Commissioner of Ludhiana, who is credited for bringing the project to the city, carried out the “bhoomi-poojan” on Ferozepur Road this afternoon.

He said once the project was completed, Ludhiana would be the only city in the country to be under the CCTV surveillance.

Commissioner of Police Paramraj Singh Umranangal said the project would be a shot in the arm for the Police Department.

“Besides curbing crime, the installation of cameras at key points (including the entry and exit points) will provide us the real-time visuals and help us in planning the further course of action. CCTV footage would be used in prosecution. For example, the murder of Jhammat village Sarpanch Bhupinder Singh by his brother was caught on a CCTV camera, which played a major role in cracking the case,” said Umranangal.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Narinder Bhargav said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would formally launch the project in a few days. The police officials did not divulge the details as to how much money would be pumped into the project.

He was quick to add: “This project is here to stay and will not end with the transfer of commissioners. The project was passed in the budget and there will be regular allocation of funds for a smooth running of the project.”

He said the main control room would be set up at the Police Lines. Besides, there will be a central control room and sub-control room that will be established at the offices of ADCPs and ACP. 

Specially trained police personnel will be deputed at the control room to scrutinise the activities on a giant monitor. Connectivity and bandwidth required for this project will be provided by Reliance Geo.

In Punjab Budget-2013, the government had announced the expenditure of crores of rupees under the Safe City Project. An estimated 800 CCTV cameras would be installed in Amritsar and Ludhiana under the project. 

The ACP-Traffic, Richa Agnihotri, said: “State-of-the-art cameras will be used in the project. These include pan tilt and zoom (PTZ) cameras, automatic number plate reader (ANPR) and red light violation cameras. These cameras will record violations automatically and challans will be mailed to the vehicle owners.”

Previous CCTV project failed to take off

Earlier, a similar project had failed to take off. The cameras installed at seven locations, namely Kohara, Sahnewal, Ferozepur Road, Hambran Road, Pakhowal Road and Gill Road, are lying defunct. The CCTV cameras, installed with the help of some NGOs, are also not working.

CP’s magnanimous gesture

At a time when officials leave no opportunity to take credit, Commissioner of Police (CP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal especially invited previous Police Commissioner Pramod Ban for the “bhoomi poojan” of the Safe City project. Umranangal said Pramod Ban made relentless effort to bring the project to the city. He also thanked Ishwar Singh, now Director of State Narcotic Control Bureau, for conceptualising the project.