THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) under the Smart City Mission project is all set to be operational by mid-February.
Under construction on the premises of the corporation office, this is the first centralised control centre in the capital. Though a temporary facility was functioning in the district collectorate, this one will be a full-fledged nerve centre.
According to an official with the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL), which oversees the project, the main work pending is data installation from the State Data Centre (SDC).
“The works are nearing completion. The installation of a video wall is in progress. Similarly, the dashboard is also in the final stage. But we need to shift the data from the SDC to the ICCC. This is a time-consuming process, but we will complete it as soon as possible,” the official explains.
Notably, the SCTL had initially set April 2023 as the deadline. However, the project was delayed after the first contractor backed out, and the SCTL had to re-tender the work.
Though officials were hopeful of commencing the centre by November, technical delays in installation of certain equipment yet again hampered the project.
This time, however, the SCTL seems confident of operations taking off within a month. “Work is in full swing and the ICCC will be operational by February 15,” says the official.
The new facility will be in a two-storey building with a seismic design, adjacent to the current corporate office. “The ICCC will be functional on the first floor of the building. The ground floor will house the ‘Janasevana Kendram’,” says a top corporation official.
“The decision on setting up the ICCC close to the city corporation was taken as most of such command and control centres work closely with civic bodies.”
Controversy
Earlier, the construction of the new building had drawn flak for allegedly encroaching on the footpath along the Rama Rao Lamp Road towards Museum-Palayam Road. As per studies conducted in 2003 by the Thiruvananthapuram City Road Improvement Project (TCRIP), footpaths need to be at least 4m wide. The issue, which still persists, was highlighted by Anilkumar Pandala, former project head and managing director of TCRIP.
Features
ICCC will have a video-wall room, war room, help desk, work areas, and meeting rooms.
There will be an integrated system that will operate and manage real-time monitoring, improving service delivery efficiency. It will act as a common point of action during emergencies to facilitate coordinated action.
The control room, or war room, would act as a single point of coordinated action and decision-making among various agencies like police and fire & rescue, and departments such as health, civil supplies and revenue
Total area –858.45sq.m.
Project cost is estimated to be Rs 94 crore