SAMBALPUR: The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the district police on Tuesday evening signed an agreement with VL Access India for implementation of a unified command and control platform-based city surveillance, integrated traffic management and public address system.
Valued at Rs 4.96 crore, the project envisages deployment of 207 AI-powered cameras across 52 strategic locations within the city in two phases. Advanced bullet, facial recognition, PTZ and state-of-the-art automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) cameras will play a pivotal role in enhancing surveillance and security measures.
Additionally, the project includes the installation of solar-powered automatic traffic signalling systems at six key intersections to streamline vehicular flow, monitor violations and enable automatic e-challan generation. Upon successful implementation of the project, Sambalpur will become the fifth city in Odisha to adopt the ‘One Nation One Challan’ initiative under the Central government’s traffic violation management system.
Under the project, a unified command and control (UCC) centre will be established on the district police office premises. Besides, satellite control centres will be set up at SMC and the RTO office to ensure seamless coordination and efficient management of the system. The integration of AI-driven analytics tools within the UCC platform will significantly enhance the city police’s ability to respond swiftly to citizen safety concerns and improve law enforcement efficiency.
SMC commissioner Vedbhushan said the implementing agency, VL Access India, was selected through a competitive e-tendering process under the technical supervision of OCAC.
The agency brings extensive expertise in executing similar projects in Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate of Police, Berhampur, Keonjhar and Angul, ensuring a robust and efficient implementation for Sambalpur. A target has been set to inaugurate the project by April 1 on the occasion of Utkal Divas, he added.
This initiative marks a significant step towards making Sambalpur a safer, smarter and more secure city using modern surveillance technology and intelligent traffic management solutions to create a well-monitored urban environment.
Sources said the project was initially proposed in 2022 and supposed to be executed under the CSR initiative of the local industries. However, the plan could not materialise due to lack of funds.