There are just about 420 CCTVs in Hyderabad, say representatives of the Lok Satta Party, who met the CM today.
The Lok Satta Party, on Wednesday, expressed its concern over the security threat/s to Hyderabad.
In a representation submitted to Chief Minsiter N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday, Lok Satta Party state president Katari Srinivasa Rao, and other leaders, brought the Chief Minister's attention to the fact that neither the Hyderabad police nor the National Investigative Agency has made any breakthroughs in identifying the perpetrators of the bomb blasts at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad, even (nearly) 100 days after the suspected terrorist attack.
"One of the reasons for the failure of our investigative processes is the absence of a wide and effective CCTV network in a growing metropolis like Hyderabad," they said.
"Our inquiries under the Right to Information Act reveal that there are just 370 CCTV cameras in areas under the jurisdiction of the Hyderabad Police Commissioner, and 51 cameras in areas under the jurisdiction of the Cyberabad Police Commissioner.
"Of them, 34 cameras in Hyderabad, and all the 51 in Cyberabad are dysfunctional. Not a single camera has been installed in the years 2011 and 2012, and so far in the year 2013," the Lok Satta leaders said.
Citing media reports, the Lok Satta leaders said that the government of Andhra Pradesh had earlier estimated that Hyderabad would require 3,000 CCTV cameras. In fact, during the Biodiversity Conference in 2012, the Hyderabad police had sought Rs. 300 crore for the installation of 3,000 cameras, they said.
The Andhra Pradesh government had requested the Prime Minister, who visited Hyderabad in the wake of the Dilsukhnagar blasts, to sanction Rs. 450 crore for the installation of 3,500 CCTV cameras.
"We are sorry that there has been no progress in the installation of cameras anywhere in Hyderabad since the Dilsukhnagar blasts," the team of representatives from the Lok Satta party said.
In stark contrast, the Maharashtra government is going ahead with the installation of a large CCTV network at a cost of Rs. 864 crore, in the wake of the serial blasts that rocked Mumbai (not to mention, the heinous 26/11 terrorist attacks).
"We need not over-emphasize the importance of a CCTV network in all public places, as it will obviously help in deterring crime, as well as in identifying the culprits. Within 48 hours of a bomb blast in Boston, the US authorities could nail down the culprits, based on CCTV surveillance. And closer home, CCTV surveillance has brought the IPL betting racket to light," the leaders said.
The Lok Satta leaders requested the Chief Minister to expedite the installation of a CCTV network, without further delay, considering that Hyderabad seems to have become a destination of choice for terrorists.
According to them, the state government, which has an annual budget of nearly Rs. 1.5 lakh crore, can afford to spend funds from its own budget for installation of the CCTV network. (INN)