CCTV Cameras in Imphal City
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 18, 2014 -

In the midst of continued crimes ranging from petty offenses to bomb blasts leading to deaths of civilians in the high-security zone in Imphal Municipal areas, the state government still remains indifferent to the calls for repairing of the non-functional Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed at various corners of Imphal city.

During the time of installation of this costly technology, people at the helm would have surely vied for the contracts and supplies for reaping profits.

Now, not only the money spent for erecting cameras has been wasted, but the state police has also been handicapped in maintaining law and order in the absence of this technology.

Had the State Government been serious in maintaining law and order in the heart of Imphal city, it would have paid due attention to make the Cameras functional in time.

Manipur being an insurgency-infested state, a number of anti-social elements also take advantage to create mayhem in public places as well as to extort money in the name of insurgents.

Not all crimes against civilians are the architecture of armed insurgents.

Moreover, there is no guarantee that the state agencies or its personnel are not wholly involved in such anti-social activities.

Looking into the past, the public in Manipur has witnessed numerous crimes in which personnel of state security agencies were involved.

The people of Manipur can hardly confide in the security arrangements made by the government agencies.

Heinous incidents like the bomb blast happening again and again in high security areas of Imphal Municipality are obviously due to security lapses on the part of the State Home Department.

It has been appealed from various circles that the existing police agency in Manipur is required to be made high-tech by equipping them with all modern facilities of communication.

However, the issue of police modernization seems to be limited with construction of police out-posts, fencing and wall painting of police stations, purchase of vehicles and recruitment of police constables etc etc.

Outdated technologies used in law and order maintenance have been responsible for frequent crimes inflicting civil population.

It may be noted here that the recent bomb blast incidents at MG Avenue area (during last Durga Puja festival and on December 15) occurred in front of the useless CCTV cameras.

Had the Cameras been working properly, the blasts could have been averted and lives of civilians could have been saved.

The reasons the state government keeps CCTV cameras non-functional in the city areas is highly skeptical considering the apparent seriousness of the government in maintaining law and order in the state capital.

After a number of bomb blast incidents in Imphal Municipal areas, time has come for the government to explain why such a valuable machination is still not repaired.

Numerous news reports, comments and even assurances from the political leaders regarding the CCTV cameras have been witnessed in the past few years.

However, the lack of seriousness on the part of state home department has led to burgeoning of crimes in the city.

It is now time for the government to explain why the CCTV cameras are kept non functional for long.