Following recent incidents of vandalism, damage and theft of public property, such as bollards, decorative lights and street furniture, the Public Works Department (PWD) has hired an organisation to use Artificial Intelligence to monitor all 16 stretches redeveloped and beautified under the Delhi government’s streetscaping project.
According to officials, the streetscaping division of the PWD has hired a firm with a patent and self-controlled AI monitoring system. “It has been a month since the company has been engaged. Under this plan, cameras are being installed at intervals on stretches and on inspection vehicles. The company will monitor the CCTV footage daily and submit it in the evening,” said an official. Officials said work has started on the ground and the stretches where cameras are already installed are being monitored.
“We have also set up a control room through which our staff is also monitoring the stretches. Further, the organisation submits a report daily, from which we take note and take action in cases of any damage, missing lights and signages, broken pavements and bollards, and missing medians,” said the officials. The PWD will also take action on any kind of vandalism and submit the footage and report to the Delhi Police.
Officials said, “Soon, AI will be completely on board once the cameras are installed across all stretches. These will have cameras and sensors. During inspections, it will detect damages on the roads.” The camera and sensors will be connected with software and there will also be an AI-monitored dashboard. It will provide a daily heat map of drivers, showing areas and distances covered by the agency’s operation.
Under this plan, the department has also hired security guards. Their uniforms will also be soon geotagged, said officials. The PWD has also started the second phase of the installation of CCTV cameras. In the first phase, the department installed 1.40 lakh cameras. “A lakh cameras have been installed in the second phase and remaining are under progress,” added a senior PWD official.
