Now, real-time video surveillance system to nab red sanders smugglers

File photo for representational purpose
File photo for representational purpose

CHENNAI: In the wake of Seshachalam incident, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has set up real-time video surveillance system in and around Tiruvallur forest where rampant felling and smuggling of red sanders are being, of late,  reported.
Twenty suspected woodcutters from Tamil Nadu were killed in an alleged encounter in Seshachalam near Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh on April 7, 2015. While the Andhra police claimed they fired in self-defence, there was no proper video evidence to prove that.
Since then, the demand for 24/7 video surveillance system capable of being controlled from a remote station was on the cards along the inter-state border.
But the trouble associated with this was erratic power supply in remote villages and using wires for long-distance signal transmission.

“It was almost impossible to connect cameras with optical fibres since they are located too far from the control room,” government sources told Express.
To resolve these issues, the Tamil Nadu government earlier this year sanctioned `96.5 lakh to set up a real time video surveillance system along selected spots in Tiruvallur forest division on pilot basis. Following a successful test run, the state-of-the-art facility was put into operation from September.
At present, cameras have been installed in the Poondi Red Hills and Gummidipoondi region. The exact locations were kept confidential so that smugglers don’t get wary about them.
To address the issue of power shortage, the entire system has been designed to operate on solar power. These cameras with an in-built IP address will function 24/7 and can be controlled from a remote centre in Tiruvallur town located 40-50 km from the forests.

The operator can rotate the cameras, zoom in or out and adjust other settings to support night vision.
Forest Department officials said multiple objects can be automatically tracked using the video surveillance system.
Based on the movement, height and other parameters, the moving objects are classified into different categories such as vehicle, human and animal.
If the object was a person or a vehicle, then a unique label will be  assigned to it and tracked until it left the radar.
On confirmation that the movements were related to red sanders smugglers or woodcutters, alert signals in form of electromagnetic waves were transmitted to the control centre, a senior Forest Department official told Express.
“By this, we can nab the smugglers even before they try to flee the scene,” he added.
Apart from live surveillance, the system also has an in-built automatic recording facility and footage can be retrieved at any point of time (within three months).

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The New Indian Express
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