Renovation plan for defunct : CCTVs gathering dust in Finance Dept
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, January 28 2015:
The file submitted to the State Finance Department for clearing a project proposal of Rs 1.73 crores in connection with renovation of the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed in different parts of Imphal city to aid in controlling crimes as well as in regulating traffic flow has been lying gathering dust on the table of the Department.
The move to renovate the CCTV cameras, which ironically have remained non-functional most of the time, has been initiated by the Government of Manipur after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs demanded to know the steps that have been taken up to control subversive activities of insurgent groups and other incidents of crime against non-Manipuris in the State.
Accordingly to a highly placed source, after spending crores of rupees, around 150 CCTV cameras were installed at different parts of Imphal with one Bangalore based M/s Meltronics Systemtech as the implementing agency.
But even before they could be made fully functionally, most of these CCTV cameras have remained defunct for the last 3 years.
It was only after incidents of bomb blast in important places including at the gate of Chief Minister's bungalow that a Stock Taking Committee had been formed with instruction from Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
The Committee was headed by DIG (Rangfe-I) IK Muivah as chairman.
The Committee submitted its report to the Government in time with recommendation for 'repair, replacement and upgradation with HD CCTVs and infra-red light for night monitoring' at an estimated cost of Rs 1.73 crores.
Acting on the Committee report and its recommendation, necessary file had been forwarded to the State Finance Department for sanctioning the required amount for renovation of the CCTV cameras.
But the file has remained without in the Finance Department without moving an inch.
Talking to Hueiyen Lanpao, a police officer pointed out that if the CCTV cameras had been working, then instances of bomb blasts like the ones which were witnessed in different parts of Imphal in the run up to the just concluded Republic Day celebration could have been prevented or neutralized in time.
Moreover, these CCTV cameras could have helped in the police investigation to a large extent.