THIS IS USELESS CAMERA
On any given day, 50 per cent of all traffic surveillance cameras Bangalore city don’t work
It’s a shocker. Almost half of the 160 surveillance cameras installed at various junctions in the city to regulate traffic don’t work properly.
This came to light on Thursday, when a traffic police constable attached to Adugodi traffic police station went to the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) from where these cameras are monitored.
He was trying to get video evidence of a hit-and-run case that happened on February 26 at around 12.20 am near Koramangala BDA junction when a pedestrian was mowed down by a Swift.
Unfortunately, the camera installed at that junction was not working on that day.
* Nobody gets booked in hit-and-run cases partly because not all CCTV cameras are in working condition
* Cops in the dark, as BSNL and camera manufacturer blame each other
SERIOUS PROBLEM
According to sources in the traffic police department, out of a total of 160 cameras installed, 83 were down due to one technical problem or the other on Thursday. On March 3, the number was 78 and it was 72 on March 2. On an average a third of the cameras are constantly down. “This is a very big problem for our department. Every day, almost 50 per cent of the cameras. Most of them don’t function properly due to problems with the cameras. Sometimes, the BSNL leased lines fail and sometimes it’s faulty power supply,” a senior traffic police officer said on condition of anonymity. It’s a moot point how, with such problems, the traffic police will be able to handle the Variable Messaging System (VMS) expected to come up soon at 20 junctions.
MORE PROBLEMS
In fact, cameras at five junctions have not been working for the last five to six months as miscreants had stolen the UPS boxes. Most of the time these cameras don’t work for days together. As it is, the cameras have their own limitations. Even if a traffic infringement is recorded, the camera can’t zoom in on the number plate of the vehicle.
BLAME GAME
Zaicom, the vendor of the cameras, tells another story.
“All our cameras are in working condition. The real problem lies with BSNL leased lines. They have to finish the creation of Virtual Local Area Network (V-LAN) for the smooth functioning of these cameras.
“Once they are done with this, we will have to change the IP address of our cameras,” Tavrez, a manager with Zaicom, said.
Reacting to this, Bolgund, BSNL Divisional Engineer (Data), said, “Earlier, the entire system worked on a LAN. All installations such as cameras, signal lights and VMS boards were affected if something went wrong with one component.
“To get rid of such nagging problems, we have started working on virtual LAN or V-LAN. Once it is in place, the malfunctioning of one component won’t affect the others. Not only BSNL, but all other service providers, including Zaicom should cooperate with us to address the issue as soon as possible.”
COPS NOT WORRIED
However, according to Praveen Sood, additional commissioner of police (traffic and security), the problem is not a big one.
“We are working hard along with BSNL and other service providers to solve this problem. BSNL has already started converting LAN to V-LAN. With crores of rupees invested in the project, we will ensure that everything is in place,” Sood said.
Source : English Daily Bangalore Mirror Dated 05 Mar 2010
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Are you in India? I’m in England. The only thing I know about Indian roads is from watching Road Raja. Maybe if you didn’t have independence I might have gone there to see.