Patna, June 19: Police have planned to acquire extra “eyes”, read cameras, to keep tab on the city traffic.

Sources said 28 state-of-the-art pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras would be set up in seven locations of the city.

These would allow the traffic police to observe the traffic condition continuously.

Patna-based Graphic Trades has already submitted a proposal for the project.

Senior police officers are hopeful that the move will smoothen the flow of traffic in the city.

Sources, however, claimed that most of the chosen upscale locations do not really need CCTV cameras to manage traffic, as they do not witness frequent snarls.

A police officer said CCTV cameras need to be installed in select crime-prone areas. Surveillance cameras would help gather evidence for the police.

Pan-tilt-zoom cameras allow remote directional and zoom control. These cameras are superior to regular CCTV cameras, as they are capable of taking better images.

According to the plan, the areas where the cameras will be installed include Civil Court, Vidhan Sabha, the neighbourhood of Patna High Court, R-Block, Old Secretariat, the area near Mahavir Temple on Station Road and Dakbungalow Roundabout.

Four PTZ cameras would be installed in each of these seven locations according to the initial plan.

Patna senior superintendent of police Alok Kumar told The Telegraph: “The police are looking forward to the plan. Things are being worked out. The aim is to keep a tab on the traffic condition along these areas and divert it accordingly in case of a problem. More details in this connection are being worked out at present and will be divulged later.”

Besides traffic control, these cameras can also be used to check crime.

“Areas near the Old Secretariat and Vidhan Sabha are upscale and do not have a traffic problem. There is no use of these cameras. Also, these areas are already monitored,” a police officer said.

The officer added these cameras could be installed in crime-prone areas, where loot and chain snatching were common.

“Areas like Shastri Nagar and Rajiv Nagar should have such cameras. The police can then monitor these pockets round-the-clock,” the officer said.

“These cameras could be used to record criminal incidents and would make our job easy,” the officer said.

He added: “It is essential to take care that the expensive cameras are not stolen.”

Earlier, too, the Patna police had tabled a plan to install cameras in the many roundabouts of the city with a centralised server and a control room for monitoring purposes.

As pictures are received constantly, it will be easy for the on-duty police to operate.

They will be informed instantly about the conditions of the roads.

This would allow the on-duty police official to streamline the traffic.