The New Town authorities will install 300 CCTV cameras at all bicycle docking stations and community markets in New Town.
The cameras will be all-weather ones, equipped with night vision. Each docking station will have at least two CCTV cameras that will provide coverage of the entire station area.
In case of community markets, the cameras will be positioned near the entry and exit points.
At present the number of CCTV cameras in New Town is 535.
The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NK-DA) has undertaken the project of installing the cameras.
“The cameras will help us keep an eye on the docking stations and the markets. We decided to install the cameras at the bicycle docking stations as there have been reports of thefts and people damaging the cycles. In case of markets, the cameras will provide an added layer of protection and security,” said a senior NKDA official.
According to the official, the direct feed from the cameras will be scanned at the NKDA control room as well as the police control room.
The official said they had shortlisted high-resolution CCTV cameras that can track the movements of vehicles as well as people from a distance.
“Unlike the ones used at homes, these CCTV cameras are more powerful and have a much higher picture quality. We finalised the installation points based on inputs from the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate,” the official said.
According to the official, this is the first phase of the project and they intend to install more CCTV cameras across all three action areas.
At present, Action Area I has the highest concentration of CCTV cameras, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.
“We want to set up more cameras and improve the security infrastructure in Action Areas II and III,” said the officer.
