The AAP government has decided to invite tenders for CCTV cameras to be installed in all 3,800 Delhi Transport Corporation buses, moving a step towards women’s safety. DTC will issue the tender for more than 12,000 cameras costing over Rs 100 crore shortly. The party had promised in its 70-point election manifesto to install CCTVs in the buses of Delhi, often referred to as the rape capital of the country.
Sources said every bus will have three cameras and their live feed will be sent to a centralised control room. The feed will be monitored round-the-clock and there will be a response team to attend to emergencies, said a senior DTC official.
The decision came after a year of pilot run of CCTV cameras in 200 buses.
“We have finished the pilot project and the feedback is encouraging. In many cases, we managed to track down pickpockets and eve teasers and it acts as a deterrent. Every bus will have one camera at the front, one at the back and another in the middle, so that the entire bus is covered,” said a senior DTC official. This is the first time in DTC’s history that CCTV cameras will be installed in every bus. DTC will also install new GPS devices in the buses for better monitoring of camera feed.
“Each CCTV will have the capacity to store 15 days’ recordings. Footage from these cameras will be monitored daily. Stickers will also be pasted informing general public that they are being tracked,” the official added. He said the cameras can also prove handy in case of a crime incident. “This way, we will monitor our staff too.” “We have included a condition that CCTVs are a must for the company supplying buses to the Delhi government. This way the new buses will have CCTV cameras,” he said. DTC has also started deputing guards in the buses for security.
