Finally, decks cleared for 1,000 eyes in the sky

A total of 1,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be installed in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad as part of Rs30 crore project to keep a watch on activities of terrorists and anti-social elements. A special agency will be appointed to monitor the footage grabbed by these cameras.

This decision was taken at a meeting of civic chiefs of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, police commissioner and district collector held in Mumbai by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

Talking to media persons on Wednesday, Pune’s municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak said, “All CCTV cameras already installed at various places in the city will also be connected with the ones which will be newly installed.”

Following the instruction by the PMC, several shop owners in the city have installed such CCTVs outside their establishments and all these cameras will also be connected with the new ones.

After the serial blasts on Jungli Maharaj Road on August 1, the state government had decided to install around 1,000 CCTV cameras at various vantage places in the city.

“The police has been asked to identify the spots where the CCTV cameras will be installed. Once these spots are identified, the civic administration will give its opinion on the feasibility of installing CCTV cameras there,” Pathak said.

A committee comprising representatives of the state government, Pune Municipal Corporation, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and Pune police will be formed to monitor the progress of the project.

However, Pathak made it clear that once the project is completed, local corporators will not be provided any funds by the civic body to install more CCTV cameras.