CCTV camera monitoring room in Noida’s Sector 18 destroyed

Officials said this has hampered the security arrangements of the police as the 50 CCTV cameras installed at important junctions of the busy marketplace have been rendered useless.

The close circuit television camera (CCTV) monitoring room at the Sector 18 police chowki was uprooted following heavy winds and is yet to be repaired even three weeks.

Property worth Rs 5-6 lakh has been destroyed, officials estimated. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT PHOTO)

Officials said this has hampered the security arrangements of the police as the 50 CCTV cameras installed at important junctions of the busy marketplace have been rendered useless.

The tin shed control room, adjacent to the chowki, was demolished in the night when a nearby tree fell on it and resulted in the destruction of the control room, which had a wide-angle LCD screen to monitor CCTV cameras, a computer system, mikes and chairs.

Property worth Rs 5-6 lakh has been destroyed, officials estimated.

Police say that the construction of the chowki will take time as the proposal has to be processed as per the existing norms. “These things (natural calamities) are not under anyone’s control and repairing the control room will take time. We have requested for necessary arrangements and these will be done in due time,” said Anil Shai, station house officer, Sector 20 police station.

The CCTV control room was inaugurated in October 2015 after the Noida authority, police and businessmen collected funds to install 50 high definition CCTV cameras and set up a room to monitor the area. The cameras can also be operated through a Wi-Fi connection and the control room had advanced mikes for use in cases of emergency.

Businessmen were unsatisfied with a lack of action to repair it and demanded a permanent solution. “Even last time, we (businessmen) were asked to donate money for setting up the control room. It is the job of the Noida authority and the district administration to ensure our safety. The entire marketing complex is at risk at this moment. They should find a permanent solution to the problem immediately,” said SK Jain, president, Sector 18 market traders’ association.