THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Police Department will install more than 100 CCTV cameras at important spots in Sabarimala to ensure security cover for women pilgrims opting to visit the hill shrine during the pilgrim season.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting the other day. The department had installed about 78 cameras in Nilakkal, Pampa and Sannidhanam in the last pilgrim season. However, following the Supreme Court order allowing women pilgrims of all ages entry into Sabarimala, it was decided to install 102 more cameras.
Since the department doesn’t have the required number of cameras, they will have to depend on private parties.
“We might take cameras on rent as we can’t work with the department cameras alone,” said IG (Thiruvananthapuram Range) Manoj Abraham.
The move reflects the police’s concerns about the safety of women pilgrims.
7 lakh women expected
The police’s intelligence unit has pegged the number of women devotees who visited the shrine last year at around five lakhs. Following the SC verdict, it may increase by one or two lakhs, intelligence sources felt.
The department found eight of the surveillance cameras installed in Pampa and nearby areas were destroyed in the recent flood. They will be repaired. The camera connectivity is intact, though.
It has also been decided to engage drones for aerial surveillance.
TDB to hold crucial meeting today
T’Puram: The Travancore Devaswom Board will convene a crucial board meeting here on Wednesday. President A Padmakumar, however, said its primary agenda is not the court verdict but the assessment of the facilities that have been set up in Nilakkal and Pampa, which was ravaged by the floods.