E-Paper
State steps up security
Soon, a closed-circuit television camera will scan your car before you hit the 5.6-km Bandra-Worli sea link.
Soon, a closed-circuit television camera will scan your car before you hit the 5.6-km Bandra-Worli sea link.
Caught off-guard by the Pune blast, the home department and Mumbai police are in damage-control mode.
Beefing up surveillance in Mumbai, police plan to monitor the public in 105 malls, 53 hotels, 46 hospitals and multiplexes all video-networked through closed-circuit television cameras. The proposed Metro rakes and Monorail will be monitored 24x7 too.
On Monday, Home Minister R.R. Patil headed a security preparedness meet at Mantralaya.
He asked all agencies, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), to work out security plans for important installations and get police nods for the plans.
On constant watch will be religious sites such as Siddhivinayak temple and Pandharpur, tourist attractions such as Ajanta and Ellora in Aurangabad and transport projects such as the sea link and Metro and also major dams.
Patil said his department will not issue licences to any establishment — such as hotels — unless they put in place security arrangements.
He directed the Urban Development Department and the civic body to stall building permissions for high-rises if they have not submitted security plans, which should include provision for private guards.
MMRDA officials were asked to take a leaf from London’s surveillance systems in public transport buses and the Metro for the city’s mega transport projects.
London’s Metro has an extensive video surveillance network, including cameras that send alarms when suspicious behaviour or unattended baggage is captured.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Himanshu Roy said his department is conducting a feasibility study for installing 5,000 cameras at traffic bottlenecks and important buildings.
