Bengaluru: The Social Welfare Department has come forward to install CCTV cameras in order to stop illegal activities in all the hostels coming under its wing.

In more than 1,200 boys and girls hostels, the cameras will be installed shortly. As a result, all kinds of illegal activities including tampering account books will come to a stop. Every kind of activity will be under surveillance.

Sitting in the main centre in Bengaluru all the activities occurring in any hostel in the State can be monitored. As GPS will be fixed, irregularities can be controlled. In each hostel, three to four CCTV cameras will be installed at the entrance, in godown, dining hall and kitchen.

These steps are being taken since there were allegations that the students were indulging in unlawful activities and even outsiders were staying in hostels illegally. Besides, there were corruption charges against hostel wardens themselves.

A couple of months ago, a few students of Vidyavaridhi International Residential School in Tumakuru’s Chikkanayakanahalli died of food poisoning. This incident had created a big issue.

There were reports that food was being contaminated with lizards and other pests. Apart from this, in the hostels many who were not students were staying. This was creating problems for students studies. The hostel wardens were indulging in selling provisions in black market. There is a rule that every student must be given a proper menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The wardens buy rice, sugar, oil, eggs, dal, vegetables, soap, which are the requirement for the students but divert most of it thus depriving them of healthy food. To stop all these illegal activities, the Social Welfare Department has come forward to install CCTV cameras to capture every detail unfolding in the hostels.