KR MARKET: The BBMP had installed 32 cameras to monitor the bustling K R Market and its surroundings, but not one is working.
Krishna Rajendra Market, also known as City Market, is one of the largest markets in Asia, and houses more than 1,300 shops. About 1,500 vendors carry out business on the footpaths around the building, located in one of Bengaluru’s oldest business hubs.
In 2014, the then councillor G A Ashwathnarayana used his ward funds to buy 32 CCTV cameras. “Of them, four were rotating cameras,’’ he told Express.
B R Nanjundappa, former chairman, BBMP standing committee overseeing the market, said the cameras had cost Rs 20 lakh. “We had installed them in April last year to prevent pick-pocketing, chain-snatching and littering,’’ he said.
Police sources said the cameras had remained non-functional for five months. “We have a centralised monitoring system inside our station at KR Market. But we cannot monitor anything as the cameras are not working,” a senior policeman said.
In the past, the cameras have helped the police identify pick-pockets and vehicle thieves. A complaint filed with the BBMP in August was in vain, he added.
According to a senior BBMP official, the CCTV cameras have just been switched off. “Some BBMP employees who collect hafta are responsible for this. They go around collecting money from owners whose shops are not legally allotted. It is a mafia,’’ he said.
BBMP Commissioner Kumar Naik said he would get the CCTV cameras working soon.