The Mambalam railway station, a major lifeline that connects the city’s business nerve centre of Thyagaraya Nagar to other parts, has been brought under CCTV surveillance. Sixteen CCTV cameras, including two rotating cameras, were installed at key locations at railway station premises and would be officially inaugurated on Thursday.
A senior railways official said this ‘extra set of eyes’ would help protect shoppers, who come to the city’s commercial hub with fat wallets, from pickpockets. “The Mambalam railway station has been brought under CCTV cover as umpteen number of people drop in for shopping. It would help secure visitors’ valuables from miscreants,” S R Gandhi, senior divisional security commissioner of the Chennai division told Express.
The railway station, sandwiched between the busy Ranganathan Street and West Mambalam, is used by an average of about 5 lakh commuters everyday, Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources claim. Footfall reaches its peak of 8 lakh, during weekends and holidays or festival seasons. Besides Electric Multiple Units (EMU), Mambalam is also a stopover station for express, mail and passenger trains.
As many as eight CCTV cameras were installed at Mambalam two years ago, but their services were discontinued due to technical problems, sources said.
According to an RPF officer, the cameras are being installed as part of the Integrated Security System (ISS) programme.