E-Paper
ASI makes exception, Red Fort gets 25 CCTVs for enhanced security
25 CCTV cameras have been installed at the Red Fort for enhanced security, following a government proposal approved by the ASI after recent terror threats.
New Delhi: The first batch of 25 CCTV cameras has been installed at strategic corners of the Red Fort to ramp up security, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move followed an exception granted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) allowing camera installation due to heightened security concerns.
HT reported on January 16 that the ASI approved the government’s move to permanently install CCTV cameras across the ASI-protected structure, which previously lacked any internal cameras due to drilling restrictions. The government’s proposal for 360-degree CCTV coverage at the monument was put on hold for at least seven years due to objections from the ASI.
Following the November 10 terror attack, close to the vicinity of the ASI-protected 17th-century monument, which killed at least 15 people, central intelligence agencies met with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which protects the Red Fort, Delhi Police, in charge of peripheral security outside, and the ASI.
“An exception was made in this case after a series of meetings between ASI, CISF, central agencies and police. The first batch of 25 CCTV cameras has been installed across the complex without drilling at a single location. Locations have been identified for placing cameras across the complex. An additional 100 cameras will come up in the coming months,” an official said.
According to the CCTV footage of the November 10 attack, the suicide bomber Umar un Nabi was in the parking space next to the Sunheri Masjid and adjacent to a wall of the Red Fort for almost three hours with the explosives-laden vehicle.
The official said that after a detailed security review and heightened alert at the Red Fort, the authorities not only increased security but also ensured thorough lighting, with no dark spots across the monument’s periphery.
They said a clearance was obtained from the government agency before installing lights, some of which directly illuminate the walls of the ASI-protected structure.
While visitors are frisked and their entry is recorded by the new CCTV cameras, stringent security arrangements are in place for other personnel, such as workers who enter the monument premises daily, they added.
“Security norms workers who are engaged in different construction activities, such as the ongoing renovation at the Salimgarh fort inside the complex,” the officer said, adding that the CISF has also stationed personnel trained in shooting down drones.
