Mysuru: Lakhs of tourists visit Mysore Palace, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, every year. To keep a watch on this magnificent place every day is no easy task. However, the Mysuru Palace Board has risen to the occasion and installed 117 CCTV cameras covering the entire span of 72 acres of the Palace campus to keep a Hawk’s Eye on every bit of the activity that goes on in and around the Palace.

Every movement of not only visitors but also the staff working in the Palace Board and other places are kept a close watch by these 117 cameras, installed at all strategic places, including right at the top of one of the domes of the Palace, keeping a 360-degree vision on the entire activity.

Palace Security — with officials of the Police Force that comes under the jurisdiction of the City Police Commissioner — keeps a 24×7 watch on even the minutest movement, with cameras panning all the time.

“The security watch that is provided at the Mysore Palace is one of the best. City Police Commissioner K.T. Balakrishna who visited the Palace during the arrival of elephants last month was impressed with the security and the kind of cameras installed and said that it is sophisticated, comparable to the ones provided at Mysore Airport,” said Mysuru Palace Board Deputy Director T.S.Subramanya, speaking to Star of Mysore.

In all, there are total of 75 Police personnel including ACP, Inspectors, Assistant Sub Inspectors and Constables guarding the Palace. The Police do the night rounds and in the morning, dog squad and the anti-sabotage check will be held every day to see that there are no threats to the Mysore Palace, as it is one of the most iconic places, which could be a target of terror attacks.

However, during the Dasara celebrations when the diamond-studded Golden Throne is assembled, the cameras panning the Khas Durbar Hall where the throne is kept, is covered and the screen goes blank for security purposes.

As it has one of the most sophisticated equipment, the data that is stored will be preserved for six months unlike other close circuit television operations where it is discarded after a month, said a source in the Palace Board.

Central Industrial Security Force

Since long, there has been a demand for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to keep a vigil on the Palace as it is said that the security provided by them is much better. 

CISF is already deployed in Infosys campus and also at the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd. campus in Mysuru.

Hence, if CISF is deployed at Mysore Palace where the security threat is equally high, it will go a long way in maintaining tight security around the Palace, said a source in the Palace Board on condition of anonymity.