The Karnataka Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to install more than 16,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, safety lights, and emergency buttons across Bengaluru for the purpose of ensuring women’s safety.
The proposal was under the Nirbhaya fund to implement the Safe City Project in Bengaluru, Rs 667 crore and will be completed in a three year period. The cost of the project will be shared by the state and Centre in a 40:60 ratio.
Speaking to reporters following the decision, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy said the location of these cameras will be identified by the Bengaluru police based on the GIS mapping of crimes. Each CCTV camera will have an emergency light and a panic button, which when pressed will emit a loud siren and alert nearby police personnel, as per a report in TOI.
“When the switch is depressed it will send out an alert to the command and control centre (CCC). The CCC will in turn alert patrol cars to rush to the scene,” the minister told The Times of India.
A PTI report said that the 16,000 cameras will include 7,500 day/night surveillance cameras, 5,000 fixed cameras, 1,000 pan tilt zoom cameras, 1,000 automated number plate recognition cameras, 500 facial recognition cameras, 20 drone-based surveillance cameras and 1,100 body-worn cameras.
The Nirbhaya funds have been sanctioned by the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development. Other than Bengaluru, other cities that are part of this scheme are Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.