CCTV cameras now installed at all 139 Delhi Metro stations

Every time you step into a Metro station, someone's keeping watch. Subhendu Ray reports.

Every time you step into a Metro station, someone's keeping watch.

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A battery of closed-circuit television cameras have been installed in the Metro's 139 stations spread along its 168km stretch. The Metro authorities are now in the process of connecting each station with a control room for an integrated network.

The authorities completed the camera installations in the Metro network only two months ago. They had begun with the underground section between the Central Secretariat and Vishwavidyalaya stations in 2005.

About 5,200 CCTV cameras have been installed, which cover every nook and corner of each Metro station. Each of the underground stations has about 45 to 50 cameras installed while the elevated stations have about 16 to 20 cameras each. The monitoring of these cameras is done by the CISF, which is in charge of security of the Metro, as well as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Following a proposal from the CISF, the authorities are planning to convert the surveillance network into a video analytics system.

A unique video analytics system is likely to be put in place in the existing CCTV-based security network to create an alarm pop-up to draw attention of security personnel in case a camera detects any suspicious person or object. The software-based intelligent system would be connected with the CCTV surveillance system, said a source in.

He said the installation of a CCTV surveillance system had resolved the issue of bunching of people in any station, which posed a serious threat to the Metro system's security.

"Whenever there are long queues at a Metro station, our control room will send a message to the station and, with the help of additional security guards, control the situation," Banerjee added. Besides, CCTV footage would help security personnel investigate incidents such as bomb threat calls and copper cable theft, among others.