Safer Mumbai: Cops to unveil new CCTV network on Gandhi Jayanti

MUMBAI: This Gandhi Jayanti, the Mumbai police’s fight against crime is poised to touch new highs.

MUMBAI: This Gandhi Jayanti, the Mumbai police’s fight against crime is poised to touch new highs.

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On that day (October 2), the most expensive and elaborate security project of the city police, till date, the pan-Mumbai CCTV network, is all set to become a reality.

“From street crimes to traffic offenders, sexual offenders to chain snatchers or even the occasional straying leopards from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park — every happening in the city and the suburbs will come under our lens, live,” said a senior police officer involved in the project.

The ambitious project was conceived in the aftermath of the November 26, 2008, terrorist attacks. According to the recommendations of the Ram Pradhan committee, a decision was taken to install CCTV cameras at more than 1,000 locations in the city. However, even after inviting bids in 2012 and 2013, the contract could not be awarded owing to technical reasons.

Finally in February 2015, the state government put it on track by signing a Rs 949-crore deal with Larsen & Toubro for installation of 6,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the next 90 weeks (around mid-September 2016).

Meanwhile, a highly placed source in the state home department claimed the decision to make the project functional by October 2 was taken in order to avoid criticism over not meeting the deadline. “The government seems to be under pressure to meet the deadline. Otherwise, by October 2, work on 4,800 cameras could be installed, while the remaining 1,200 will be installed only by November,” sources said. However, a police officer countered the claim saying that 4,800 cameras were enough to give required coverage.

Spots for the CCTV cameras were carefully chosen by the police stations in their respective jurisdictions. The surveillance area of one camera begins at the end coverage point of another. “We have cameras at Bandstand for sexual offenders, but those in Aarey colony are meant for leopards. They will be used to warn people about the prowling beasts,” the official said.

The network will come handy not only for real-time surveillance, but it will help track criminals and missing persons too. “The city’s dark alleys will no longer provide cover for criminals, especially those who are absconding,” the official said. He said the server will be fed with photographs of over 1 lakh criminals on record, of which 18,000 are wanted. “The face recognition software will recognise them the moment they come out of hiding,” the official said. The cameras will also help track missing people.

To prevent sabotage or attempts to tamper the wiring, fibre optic cables have been laid down deep underground that connect the cameras to a control room, which has been set up on the premises of the Mumbai police commissioner’s office at Crawford Market. Sources said in places where it was difficult to lay the cable, authorities opted for wireless connectivity. “For example, cameras at Malabar Hill are mostly wire-free.”

Most of the cameras are directional and zoom controlled, while those installed at 20 points along the coastline are equipped with thermal censors. All the cameras have been connected to the main control room at Crawford market, while a parallel connection gas been given to the emergency control room at Kalina, which is on the verge of completion.

The traffic police headquarters will also have its live feed of all major roads received at its control room in Worli.

Access to the live feed has been given to all police stations as well as the DCP and regional additional CP’s offices. Local units can see the feeds, but the cameras can only be operated from the control room.

One of the most iconic structures in the city, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, however, is yet to be covered by the network. “The problem arose mainly because camera platforms cannot be erected on the bridge. Talks are on to install the cameras on pillars and cables of the bridge,” sources said.