CCTVs lying defunct at Zirakpur flyover

Satinder Pal Singh

Zirakpur, December 8

Driving on the Zirakpur flyover can be a delight but speeding is a major worry for commuters, especially when security cameras installed here have been lying defunct.

To keep a close watch on the flow of traffic and nab offenders, eight CCTV cameras were installed, four at both approaches (two each) on the flyover, two in the middle of the stretch and one each at the Kalka and Patiala lights points.

The bizarre accident on February 6, 2015 in which two students were killed on the spot and another two succumbed to their injuries had forced the district administration to take the decision to fix the speed limit and install CCTVs on the flyover.

All eight cameras were connected to a monitor, which was be controlled by a policeman round-the-clock from the traffic police control room, set up the then at the local bus stand.

These cameras have been lying out of order for several years now and the authorities concerned have not made any effort to make these functional again.

The administration felt that the system would help the police bring the city under the radar and nab offenders with much ease, but the project failed as no efforts were made to make these functional.

The speed limit (60 km per hour) was fixed for vehicles at both approaches on the flyover. However, hardly any driver adheres to the speed limit in spite of boards on the flyover prescribing speed limits for various vehicles installed by the authorities concerned.

With no system to check speeding on the Zirakpur flyover, several vehicles have been found driving in excess of 100 km. As a result, a number of traffic violators are going scot-free.

Traffic officials of Zirakpur said the contract of the company, which was maintaining the cameras, had expired. They had apprised the authorities concerned about the defunct CCTV cameras, but nothing concrete had been done to make them operational yet.

Location of cameras

To keep a close watch on the flow of traffic and nab offenders, eight CCTV cameras were installed, four at both approaches (two each) on the flyover, two in the middle of the stretch and one each at the Kalka and Patiala lights points.