Sorry state of CCTV cameras at City Railway Station

Mysore/Mysuru: The City Railway Station has 39 Close Circuit TV cameras, but are of little or no help in the augmentation of security surveillance at the most busiest transit point.

Majority of 31 cameras produce blurry visuals, while eight cameras have gone defunct, awaiting repair since several years. Two cameras were removed recently, owing to difficulties faced in the repair works. The cameras have been connected to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Control Room, to keep a tab on the happenings through two LED Screens.

Of the 31 cameras, 17 are connected to one screen and remaining 14 to another. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) of the screen attached to 17 cameras is hit by technical snag, making it difficult for RPF personnel to monitor the activities.

While CCTV cameras have become integral to probe cases for the Police, especially when the suspects are on move, the cameras installed at this railway station remaining partially functional, prove otherwise.

Recently, when the Police were investigating into the chilling rape and murder of a minor girl hailing from Kalaburagi, opposite Dasara Exhibition Grounds in the city, the investigators had accessed the cameras at the railway station. It was based on the suspicion that, the suspect may have gone elsewhere through train. However, the visuals of most of the cameras lacked clarity, yielding no help                                            to the sentinels.

When the City Police have incorporated Artificial Intelligence (AI), with several such cameras aided by modern technology installed at traffic signals to monitor traffic offenders, the blatant attitude of Railway authorities in adapting to new age technology sparks concerns.

Recently, the bomb blast in a car near Red Fort in Delhi, that claimed 15 lives, triggers the need for heightened security measures. Any minute negligence may have larger repercussions, given the volume of passenger traffic handled by the City Railway Station, consisting of two entry gates, six platforms, subway and parking lots.