How safe is Belgaum's Suvarna Vidhana Soudha?

As preparations are under way at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum for the upcoming winter session, apprehensions are rife over the efficacy of the security.

Soudha, which was constructed at a cost of Rs391 crore, is reportedly bereft of high-end security systems and does not have the requisites for meeting eventualities like accidents or terror attacks.

Sources in police department, on the condition of anonymity, said the CCTV cameras installed in the assembly are outdated. “They do not have features like night vision, rotation and zoom. Even video footages obtained from these cameras have low resolution.”

A retired police official told dna that the recently installed inter-vision system at the Soudha is not of use during nights and emergency situations. “The authorities concerned did not ensure the quality of the system, neither did they take the police department in confidence. Had they approached the police, they could have given them suggestions,” he said.

He revealed that inspector general of police (IGP) of northern range, Bhaskar Rao, pointed out loopholes in the security measures at the assembly during his recent visit to the Soudha.

“The IGP apprehended that if media points out this missing technical support, it will be a big controversy,” he claimed.

When dna contacted officials at different ranks in Belgaum, they all admitted that the security in Suvarna Vidhana Soudha is lackadaisical. With defence sources in Belgaum warning of a potential terror attack in the region, the call for better security measures have only grown louder.