Government cool to police plea for more CCTVs

HYDERABAD: The city police’s desire to set up hundreds of CCTVs to prevent untoward incidents might take some more time. According to sources, the state government is not keen to sanction proper funds for setting up surveillance cameras.  Following the recent Mumbai bomb blasts, police had decided to install hundreds of surveillance cameras at all important junctions to track activities such as traffic violations and crime-related incidents. City police commissioner AK Khan had submitted a proposal seeking at least 2,000 surveillance cameras which could cost around `100 crore. The government had given a green signal to installation of 600 cameras initially. However, the government has failed to give assurance to release funds. A senior police officer said it would take more time for proposals to be finalised.Presently, there are just 225 cameras installed at various junctions and reportedly 40 per cent of them are ‘out of service’. Khan admitted that various issues like delay in bill payments, repairs and maintenance for non-functioning CCTVs. “We are getting the issues resolved through the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation,” he added.“We want more CCTVs as Hyderabad needs anywhere between 2,000 and 2,500 CCTVs to cover junctions, roads, interior roads, crime-prone and vulnerable areas. The already installed ones help us in tracking traffic violations, chain snatching, and other crimes,” said CV Anand, additional commissioner of police (Traffic).  He said there are some arrears to be paid to BSNL, which takes care of existing cameras and provides equipment for connectivity from the cameras to the control room.  “We have to pay at least `2 crore to BSNL which has been pending since two years,” added Anand.