CHENNAI: Even as security was beefed up across the State after the bomb blasts in Mumbai on Wednesday, suburban police officers admitted that Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at three major points in the city’s suburbs had not functioned since 2010.This came to light only recently, police sources said, after a woman named Kalpana filed a petition with the Chief Minister’s grievance cell seeking a reinvestigation of her husband’s death in an accident near Kathipara junction. Her complaint was forwarded to the Suburban Police Commissionerate, which asked the city police to get the CCTV footage for the time of the accident. But, the city police reportedly replied saying that the cameras had not function on the day of the accident.However, suburban traffic police officers claimed that the cameras had not functioned since 2010. The then suburban police commissioner had sent a proposal to the then DGP asking that the control of those CCTV cameras be handed over to the suburban commissionerate.Months after this, the city police disconnected the CCTV cameras from their grid and they had not been functional since then.“The cameras were disconnected in 2010. But, even if the cameras worked, they are not rotating equipment and further, can store footage only for a week to 10 days,” said a traffic police officer.Interestingly, soon after the Suburban Police Commissionerate was formed in July 2008, the then suburban commissioner sent a proposal to the then DGP, to be forwarded to the State government asking for funds to procure equipment at a cost of over `21 lakh to set up a control room. But, the suburban police claimed that the proposal is still pending.Meanwhile, the suburban police has made a fresh proposal to install 314 cameras in major parts of the area with wireless connectivity to a modern control room at a cost of `16.7 crores.The suburban police have identified 210 major junctions on 65 roads in suburban Chennai and have proposed for modern cameras, including speed dome cameras, night vision cameras, number type recognition cameras, with special software for number plate recognition. “We have sent a proposal to the CMDA and the United Nations Development Programme has said that it will consider it in the next phase,” said G Karthikeyan, Deputy Commissioner, Suburban Chennai Traffic, adding that the camera at Porur junction had been dismantled due to Metro Rail work.The proposed modern control room would have 32-bit computers with webinterface.The equipment proposed would cost `11.55 crores and the modern control room `5.04 crores.
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