Finally, Cantt Board to get CCTV surveillance

Project was in limbo as PCB had asked for road digging charges from police

 Allied Digital India Office Directory

Nov 15, 2014: After waiting for eight months, the state government's ambitious plan to install 56 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at 17 strategic locations in the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) area will finally see the light of day.

As part of the Rs.224.31-crore contract, the camera surveillance project included setting up of 1,285 cameras at 438 locations across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, it hit a roadblock with the PCB demanding Rs.62.87 lakh as road digging charges from the Pune police.

Even though the PCB had earlier given a technical go-ahead to the project, the permission was conditional, subject to payment to the cantonment board. When this was not done, the project went into a limbo.

Speaking to Mirror, a senior police officer said, "The matter was discussed at the PCB general body meeting and it was decided that the PCB will seek a refund of the road digging charges. The contractor has been insisting that it was not his responsibility to carry out restoration work after the cable lines are laid for installation."

When contacted, PCB's chief executive officer Sanjeev Kumar said, "After considering all the security aspects, we gave a go-ahead for the road digging process for installation about a month ago. We will seek refund of about Rs.70 lakh from the state government later."

Additional commissioner of police (administration) Abdur Rahman said, "Various agencies like BSNL, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL), PMC, PCMC, KCB and PCB are involved in the project. The earlier deadline has been missed and we are now taking weekly stock of the situation to speed up the process. As of now, 137 CCTV cameras are functional under zone I and connected to control room at police commissioner's office. The work is in its advance stage in Zone III (Pimpri and Chinchwad) — where 115 cameras are to be installed. In zone II (which includes PCB) and zone IV, 99 and 92 cameras will installed respectively."

M/s Allied Digital Services Limited (ADSL) has been appointed by the state home department as the contractor to install CCTV surveillance cameras in Pune. The project deadline was August 18 this year, which has now been extended to December 31. However, if sources are to be believed, this deadline will also be missed going by the groundwork.

PUNE CANTT INFO

The Pune Cantonment, established in 1817, is spread over 12 sq km and has a population of about 85,000. The cantonment boundary begins at Bhairoba Nala near Race Course and extends upto Lal Deval, and houses many military establishments. It is also known for its many shopping locations like MG Road, Fashion Street, Shivaji Market and East Street. The headquarters of Indian Army's Southern Command is also located in the Cantonment.

Courtesy: Pune Mirror