As part of the smart city project, 3,000 surveillance cameras, including 22 facial recognition cameras, will be installed at 720 locations across Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to develop a smart surveillance system.
Facial recognition cameras, installed at various locations, will be connected to the Kashi Integrated Command Control Centre (KICCC), now functional near the Varanasi Nagar Nigam, a senior officer associated with the project said. Varanasi Smart City chief executive officer and municipal commissioner Gaurang Rathi that the facial recognition camera project is being implemented using sophisticated Indian, European and American technology. If required, the number of facial recognition cameras will be increased, he said.
The optical fibre line for the same is being laid and the project is worth about Rs. 128 crores. Mr. Rathi said that work on the project began in July this year and is likely to be completed by March next year.
Facial recognition cameras help in nabbing criminals. An official associated with the project said pictures of known criminals will be on the database at KICCC. If a wanted criminal is captured on a facial recognition camera, it will alert the police personnel on duty at the KICCC. They will, in turn, inform the concerned police station and the criminal will be arrested.