Mira Bhayandar: MBMC sets up hi-tech CCTV monitoring to strengthen surveillance system for cops

In order to help the police department strengthen its surveillance system, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is setting up a modern command and control room to link the Close Circuit Tele-Vision (CCTV) camera’s in the twin-city under a centralised monitoring system.

Located below the fly-over-bridge in Bhayandar, the control room, which will act as a nerve centre, is in the advanced stages of completion and will be handed over to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police for further operations.

After approval from the home department, the civic administration has chalked out an elaborate plan to install around 1,200 high-definition CCTV cameras at strategic locations and vantage points across the twin city.

This is apart from several cameras installed by business establishments and housing societies under the police-public-participation scheme.

Presently, nearly 600 existing CCTV cameras are under the various stages of execution to be linked to the control room through fibre cables. While the estimated price tag of the control room project is pegged at Rs. 6 crore, clarity eludes as to who- the police or the civic administration will bear the annual operations and maintenance costs.

“The cameras and the centralised monitoring unit will not only act as deterrence for criminal activities and prove to be an asset for gathering crucial leads in detections but will also facilitate the police department in traffic management. The police will be in a better position to maintain the control room,” said municipal commissioner Dilip Dhole.

Apart from having a video footage storing capacity of 50 to 60 days, the control room is equipped with video walls, a generator and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

Moreover, zooming facilities will also be available to select one particular camera and view the footage with precise perfection.

MBMC Mayor Jyotsna Hasnale recently inspected the ongoing work at the control room. The CCTV camera network covers six police stations in the region which fall under the jurisdiction of the MBVV police.