CCTV cameras malfunctioning in several areas of Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The safety of the citizens has been raised due to the non-functioning of the CCTV cameras installed in many parts of the city. Apart from this, it is becoming difficult to find a criminal in any case.

In the case of a bike collision with a senior citizen in Vidyaranyapura, the inactivity of the CCTV camera has been revealed. On June 28, a senior citizen named Chandrasekhar was hit by a bike and the accused managed to escape easily.

Commenting on this, Chandrasekhar said, 'The bike hit me while I was crossing the road after feeding the street dogs.

The rider fled the scene as I fell on the road. I was admitted to a private hospital and had to undergo hip surgery. I was in the hospital for more than a week and had to spend Rs 1.5 lakh on medical expenses.''

There were no proper street lights on the road. The registration number of the vehicle could not be identified due to this. I complained about this to the Yelahanka traffic police. The police proceeded to check the CCTV camera of the bus stand near the accident spot to nab the accused. However, the camera was not working. Therefore, the accused cannot be found. If the CCTV camera was in good condition, the police could have caught the accused easily,' he said. A few years ago, the Vidyaranyapura police installed a camera at the bus stand.

Commenting on this, the traffic police head constable of Yelahanka traffic police station said, 'The CCTV camera installed near the bus stand is not working.

Thus, we have tried to find the registration number of the bike using the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the residents' houses. However, the registration number could not be detected due to lack of light.

According to the information given by Chandrasekhar, It was suspected thatthe rider would have passed through M S Palya. However, when the CCTV camera was checked there, no such bike was found,' he said.

Citizens have demanded that it is not enough to install cameras, their maintenance should also be given priority.

Commenting on this, social activist Srinath Madhyam said, 'Various departments install cameras. However, agencies are not assigned for annual maintenance of these. Because of this the cameras are not useful.

Most of the CCTV cameras installed by the police along with the residents' welfare association in Vidyaranyapura a few years ago are not functional. BBMP and police department should assign necessary personnel to maintain the cameras,' he said.

Vidyaranyapura and its surroundings were prone to thieves years ago. So the residents used to form a patrol team and patrol. Chandrasekhar said that the CCTV camera should work properly to curb crimes like theft.