Third eye watches over T Nagar

With just over a week to go for Deepavali, Chennaiites are on a shopping spree for the festival.

With just over a week to go for Deepavali, Chennaiites are on a shopping spree for the festival.  And, the city police have taken every possible measure to ensure that criminals do not have a field day at crowded places, particularly T Nagar.

The measures include permanent stationing of over 200 men and women personnel from the force drawn from the Law & Order wing of the T Nagar Police district and from the City’s Armed Reserve. These officials will be on the streets of the bustling hub until Deepavali is over.

Besides, personnel of as many as 10 teams from the Crime wing of the Police District, in plain clothes, will be assisting the  men in uniforms, to keep a tab on past criminals who could attempt any offence in the area.

The City Traffic wing has also swung into action to regulate the traffic in the most crowded spot in the city.

A dedicated team has been pressed from the traffic wing ahead of Deepavali to manage the traffic inflow into the heart of the shopping hub.

“To sensitise people, the police have also set up public announcement (PA) systems that will play pre-recorded messages. The messages will be on topics such as crime prevention, especially personal property loss to pocket pickers.It will also explain how thieves could divert one’s attention to steal valuables and cash from bags. PA systems were set up in as many as 10 spots in this shopping hub alone for sensitisation,” said a senior police officer.

Last but not the least, the City Police have installed as many as 16 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in the busy area so as to monitor the movement of past criminals.

T Nagar Police District’s Deputy Commissioner of Police Pakalavan told City Express that these cameras were being tested here for face detection as well. “Once successful, this pilot project will be expanded to cover other parts of the city as well,” he said.

“We have set up a control room which can be used for the purpose of distributing the teams as and when required. We have enhanced visible police strength during business hours and will increase it further based on the crowd indicators,” he added.

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The New Indian Express
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