Instead of peeking on couples using surveillance cameras in Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park, the government should keep an eye on what's happening inside its secretariat, privacy activists suggest
Instead of peeking on couples using surveillance cameras in Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park, the government should keep an eye on what's happening inside its secretariat, privacy activists suggest
Where will lovers go? That's the question haunting many after the Karnataka government announced it would set up surveillance cameras inside Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park.
Horticulture Minister Umesh Katti said on Saturday that he would step up security in the parks, and keep an eye on what was happening in its nooks and crannies.
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She wondered why the government was curious about what couples were doing. "This affects couples' privacy.
Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh are peaceful places and the government is indulging in moral policing when it should be controlling violence elsewhere," she told MiD DAY.
Deepak Srinivaasan, a member of non-profit Maraa, said security guards were around to control illegal activities, and there was no need for cameras.
"The government wants to make parks corporate-controlled and levy an entry fee. We should organise a debate about this issue and find out what their real purpose is," he said.
Shubha Poonja, actress, said there was no need to install spy cameras at public places. "This government is going the way of Arab countries, which is very shameful," she said.
Puneetha H K, entrepreneur, was cutting about the government's decision on cameras. "If they really want to control illegal activities, they should begin from the Vidhana Soudha," she said. "This government wants to intrude on our privacy."
She said couples were aware of what they were doing, and needed a place to sit and talk. Even people who go for walks may stop because the government is spying, she said.
"Why don't they hire more watchmen instead of cameras?" she wondered.
Know their limits
Home Minister V S Acharya said couples should know how far they could go in public places. "We are putting in cameras for security and public places should be clean and peaceful," he told MiD DAY.
He said the government did not mean to spy on couples. "But lovers should be aware of what they are doing when they are in public," he remarked.
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