Bengaluru city police will procure and install CCTV cameras for BBMP which had set aside Rs 20 crore in its last budget. They are already running the largest surveillance network in the city and taking over the BBMP project will avoid overlapping. Under the Haddina Kannu (Hawk’s Eye) project, the BBMP had announced installation of surveillance cameras in all 198 wards of the city and set aside Rs 20 crore for it. Although BBMP wanted to cover vantage points notorious for waste dumping, waterlogging and other civic issues, it did not have the facilities, unlike police, to monitor these cameras.
R Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, said as Bengaluru Police had the expertise in installing and running surveillance systems, they have been tasked to provide it for BBMP. “We’re yet to discuss in which areas they want the CCTV cameras to be installed. The initial task would be to procure the right equipment,” he said. Feeds from these CCTV cameras will be provided to police as well, thus increasing their law & order capacity. Police have already put in place a network with CCTV cameras.
Initially, when BBMP announced the project, criticism was raised about running two parallel systems. Recently the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) began doubling as a multi-departmental control room where all departmental communication in the city was brought under one roof during emergencies. Meanwhile, traffic police are acquiring 100 more CCTV cameras and 50 body-worn cameras in the coming months. With the BBMP CCTV network and 600 more CCTV cameras in the pipeline, Bengaluru will be covered extensively with more than 1,000 CCTV cameras keeping a watch on every nook and corner of the city.
