KOCHI: Last week, some miscreants vandalised Mayor Soumini Jain’s personal vehicle which was parked in front of her house at Srikandath road near Ravipuram. The incident took place at around 9 pm on October 10. However, even after a week, the Police Department is groping in the dark regarding the identity of the culprits who had destroyed the vehicle of city’s top administrator. It is being alleged political vendetta is the motive behind the attack. However, the incident has brought the spotlight back on the functioning of the CCTV cameras installed by the Police Department in the city.
Besides vandalisation of the Mayor’s vehicle, police have reached a dead end in a hit and run case involving a goods carrier lorry at Muttom, Aluva. In the incident, three migrant workers were killed. After mowing down the labourers, the lorry proceeded to Cherthala via Vyttila bypass. However, the vehicle could not be identified since the CCTV cameras along the route were not functioning. The vehicle was later on identified with the help of the visuals from the CCTV camera installed at Paliyekkara toll booth. The culprits were arrested a few days later.
The reply to an RTI query, regarding the status of the CCTV cameras installed by the Police Department in the city, reveals that a majority of these are defunct. This, in turn, has affected the crime detection system adversely. Of the 99 cameras, 79 are functioning. However, the Police Control Room receives signals from only 57 cameras. The remaining 22 cameras show the connecting mode status. Among the 19 cameras, some have not been connected due to the construction of drains while others don’t have a power connection.
Responding to the issue, the City Police Commissioner M P Dinesh said the statistic of the status has changed and a majority of CCTV cameras are functioning. “We have to inspect the cameras in order to give an exact number,” he said.
DCP R Karuppasamy, who is in-charge of traffic in the city, echoed a similar view. He too stressed on the need to verify the figures while maintaining the CCTV camera surveillance system is functioning smoothly.
However, some officers with the Police Department said they are forced to rely on the cameras installed by private parties to detect crime. “The city requires radar-equipped CCTV cameras. The cameras which have been installed are not capable of capturing nighttime images,” they added.
To add to the already dismal situation many cameras stopped transmitting after the fibre cables connecting them to the control room got destroyed during metro work.
D B Binu, general secretary, Human Rights Defence Forum, who filed the RTI plea, said, police have assured to sort out the issue within a week’s time. “They said Kochi Metro work affected the functioning of the cameras. However, the cameras which have been installed in areas through which Metro passes and also those which are in other areas remain defunct,” he pointed out.
The cameras were installed at 33 strategic points in the city by Keltron in three phases starting 2010. Of these, Kaloor Junction, Palarivattom bypass and Vyttila junction have four fixed cameras along with a dome one. While, Palarivattom junction, Pallimukku, Desabhimani junction, Kakkanad and Infopark have three fixed cameras each. The non-payment of maintenance charges to Keltron coupled with the Kochi Metro work has led to many cameras going off the grid for more than a year. Earlier, the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) with Keltron expired in March 2014 and the company suspended its service. However, the state government issued an order for resumption of service in March 2015. Keltron has resumed providing service.
The status
Of the 99 cameras, 79 are functioning
Police Control Room receives signals from only 57 cameras
The remaining 22 cameras show the connecting mode status
Among the 19 cameras, some have not been connected due to the
construction of drains while others don’t have a power connection
The locations
The cameras were installed at 33 strategic points in the city by Keltron in three phases starting 2010
Of these, Kaloor Junction, Palarivattom bypass and Vyttila junction have four fixed cameras along with a dome one
Palarivattom junction, Pallimukku, Desabhimani junction, Kakkanad and Infopark have three fixed cameras each
The non-payment of maintenance charges to Keltron coupled with the Kochi Metro work has led to many cameras going off the grid for more than a year