The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has raised concern over defunct and outdated CCTV cameras installed at the Taj Mahal. Officials said that out of 21 cameras mounted at the monument’s premises; only 15 are working at present. The force has written to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) seeking installation of ultramodern cameras.
“It is very difficult to monitor the movement of the huge crowd which is turning up every day at the monument. We have limited number of staff which are deployed at entry gates and at strategic points on the route to the main mausoleum, but still there are many dark spots which remain out of reach of our monitoring,” said a senior CISF official. According to ASI, average 25,000-30,000 tourists are visiting Taj these days, a number which doubles on weekends.
The CISF official added that the remaining functioning cameras are also not much help because of the poor quality of visuals. “Cameras not only help us in keeping a tab of anti-social elements, but also in stopping vandalism of the monument. There is a need to install at least 55 cameras and that too of very high quality. We have already written to the ASI and also conducted a joint inspection in this regard. However, things have not moved much after that,” said the official.
When contacted, ASI superintending archaeologist Bhuvan Vikrama said, “Security is under CISF’s purview and they will have to make a demand to us in writing. As soon we get that we will look into the matter and initiate the process to replace the cameras.” Recently, the archaeological body started installation of 19 video surveillance and security cameras at Fatehpur Sikri Fort. A round-the-clock control room is also being set up for monitoring the premises of the monument. The surveillance cameras are equipped with night vision.
