Noida still remains camera-unfriendly

CCTV cameras put up by police to become operational only at the end of this month

Noida still remains camera-unfriendly

CCTV cameras put up by police to become operational only at the end of this month

Had CCTV cameras started working on time, a large number of crimes could have been averted in Noida. The 122 cameras which were installed at various strategic locations in the satellite township are yet to start working though April 1 was the deadline. The cameras may now become operational at the end of July.

A police official views video footage recorded by CCTV cameras
in a control room. Representative pics

Cops say the trial is still under process and they are witnessing some technical problems due to which the entire thing has been postponed by a month. SP (traffic) Awdhesh Vijeta said: "The project has been delayed. But once the cameras start working, we will be able to keep track of the law breakers. There is some problem with the zooming in of the cameras and engineers are trying to fix it."

Coming soon
"In all the probability, the project will be launched at the end of July. The project will be handed over to the police only when the engineers are completely satisfied with the performance of the cameras. We don't want to do things in haste which may lead to problems in future," said Vijeta.

Noida police has installed cameras at 48 locations across the city. Two cameras, each at different locations, have been installed at sector 18, sector 12-22 crossing, DM residence crossing, crossroads of sectors 8, 10, 11, 12, Atta Peer crossing, T-point of Botanical Garden metro station, Metro Hospital, sector 12 and Reliance-Adobe crossing. All entry and exit points of Noida would also be brought under surveillance.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was awarded the contract to set up the CCTV control room at sector 14A. A team of 30 police officials has been trained to handle the systems. All cameras have power back-up and will be operational round the clock. Of these 122 cameras, 48 cameras can pan, tilt, and zoom, while the other 74 are fixed. The cameras will be a boon for the short-staffed traffic police, with barely 115 police personnel manning 92 traffic signals, T-points and crossings.

Crime watch
>>u00a0On June 20, the decomposed body of property dealer and builder Vinod Kumar Gupta was found in Sector 92 in Noida, two days after he went missing from Sarita Vihar in south delhi. Had there been a proper coordination between the Delhi police and Noida police and cameras working effectively, life of the 56-year-old builder could have been saved. The car could have been easily traced, the moment it entered Noida as all entry and exit points have CCTV cameras installed.
>> On June 17, two motorcycle-borne robbers snatched a bag containing Rs 1 lakh from a 75-year-old man. Ramswarup, a resident of Sector 56, had withdrawn the cash from the Syndicate Bank branch in Sector 18 and was walking towards the parking lot when the two men came on a motorbike and snatched the bag containing the money from him.
>> In another incident, on May 28, a bikers' gang struck at sector 62 of Noida snatching the purse from a woman who was returning home after withdrawing cash. The incident took place at C block near SBI ATM at around 7.10pm.