For the first time in Jharkhand, a highway stretch near Jamshedpur has come under CCTV camera surveillance to check the rising crime, thanks not to the administration or police, but a clutch of local residents and businessmen, who have pooled in money to buy the gadgets for their own security.

Highway Safety and Welfare Committee (HSWC), the association formed by the businessmen and residents, has spent around Rs 15 lakh to install 16 CCTV cameras, each having a range of 60 metres, on the 25km stretch between Pardih and Chandil of NH-33, which links the steel city with capital Ranchi, in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.

Pardih is barely 500 metres from Jamshedpur.

The installation was done on Tuesday while four monitoring cells have been also set up near Pardih temple, at River View Hotel, Chilgu and Chandil roundabout.

Members of HSWC said that they took the first-of-its-kind step because over the years, the road had become a hot spot of crimes like robberies, snatchings, thefts and even murders.

President of HSWC Dilip Kumar Mahto said the hi-tech surveillance on the Pardih-Chandil link was required not only for curbing criminal activities, but also to instil a sense of safety among commuters, especially tourists who come from neighbouring Bengal and Odisha.

"We wanted to turn the highway between Jamshedpur and Ranchi into a safe zone as it had become a haven for criminals, who not only commit crimes like robberies and loots, but also dump bodies after murders," Mahto said.

He added that a month ago, a 42-year-old man was found murdered behind a dhaba in Chilgu, about 16km from Jamshedpur. Investigations revealed the victim to be a resident of Dimna Bustee in the city.

"It was then that we, owners of various business organisations and hotels, held a meeting for finding out a solution to keep the highway free from such grievous crimes. For making our efforts a success, we also invited Chandil police, who are providing us logistics support to install the surveillance cameras," the association's president said.

Ranjit Kumar, secretary of HSWC, conceded that just 16 CCTV cameras were not enough for the 25km stretch, but they were happy that a beginning had at least been made.

"We want to bring the entire 25km road under digital surveillance. But as we are bearing all expenses, it will take sometime to install more gadgets on the highway," said Kumar, adding that more cameras would be fixed by October-end.

When contacted, officer-in-charge of Chandil police station Pervez Alam confirmed providing logistics support to HSWC by way of earmarking strategic locations for the CCTV cameras.

"As the number of cameras are few, the HSWC functionaries needed to find out strategic locations for installing them. They installed the cameras only after we identified the potential points," said Alam.

He added that though regular patrolling was undertaken on the stretch between Pardih near Jamshedpur and Chandil, the CCTV cameras would definitely deter criminal activities.

From January 1 till this date, 11 murders, 16 robberies and 21 snatchings have taken place on the highway between Pardih and Chandil.

What lesson must the state learn from such initiatives? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com