Non-payment of funds stalls CCTV camera project

The ambitious project to install high-quality CCTV cameras at important crowded locations during Ganesh festival under jurisdiction of Vishrambag and Faraskhana police stations is stuck due to non-payment of funds. So far, 14 CCTV cameras have been installed at sensitive locations, most of which are close to the Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati temple.

The temple has reportedly been on the radar of terrorists. Alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Mohammed Qateel Siddiqui, who is now under the custody of Pune unit of Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), had reportedly conducted a recce of the temple and attempted to blow it up on February 13, 2010.

According to the police, in 2011, the Dagdusheth Ganpati Temple Trust promised financial support for installing CCTV cameras at crowded spots during Ganesh festival in the jurisdiction of Vishrambag and Faraskhana police stations. Also, the then Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal promised money from his funds for the project. The police said despite the former mayor's assurance, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) did not extend support.

"Dagdusheth Ganpati Temple Trust and Rajpal promised to give Rs 10 lakh each. So we started the work and installed 14 CCTV cameras through Multi Protocol Layer Switching (MPLS) technology used in developed countries. The cameras are connected to BSNL telephones through data circuits that enable high-speed synchronised video download and upload. High quality videos for two months can be recorded on the server," said Bharat Junnarkar, director of Junnarkar Technologies, which has installed the cameras.

The police said the 14 CCTV cameras are installed at sensitive locations like Alka talkies junction, Belbag chowk, Tilak statue in Mandai and Sevasadan chowk. When connected to internet, it would be possible to view people's movements at these locations on computers from any part of the country. The system is connected to a television screen at the Vishrambag police station. However, when reporters visited the police station on Friday, the system was not working. Cops showed still photos captured by the cameras before.

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