Bhubaneswar, Feb. 21: Someone will be watching the next time a lustful youth passes a lewd comment at a woman.

Police in the twin cities propose to install 3,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at educational institutions, working women hostels, bus stands, shopping malls and places of religious congregation to check incidents of sexual harassment of women.

Official sources said that about 2,000 CCTVs would be installed in Bhubaneswar and the remaining in Cuttack.

The project will be implemented through the Nirbhaya Scheme of the Union ministry of women and child development.

At present, CCTVs are installed in the state capital to detect traffic violations. The closed circuit television cameras have been installed at 28 traffic locations in Bhubaneswar.

College-going girls welcomed the move and said the new move would serve to ensure their safety at public places.

"It is common for criminal elements to pass lewd remarks at girls, especially near educational institutes. Almost all women and girls face similar problems at public places such as bus terminals and market places. If well monitored, the CCTVs can be used to keep a close watch and ultimately deter such criminals," said Monalisa Mohanty, a college student.

The principal of a Bhubaneswar college in December had lodged a complaint at Capital police station, alleging that a group of men had sexually harassed girl students in front of the educational institute.

The principal also alleged that one of the men even tried to kidnap a girl of the institute but failed after the college authorities intervened.

Statistics available with the police revealed that 92 cases of molestation had been registered in Bhubaneswar between 2011 and 2016. In Cuttack, 16 such cases had been registered in these five years. "Most of the time, the women harassed are reluctant to lodge complaints with the police. But once the CCTVs are installed, we will be able to identify the criminals, who perpetrate such crimes," said a police official.

Under the scheme, the police also propose to set up a dedicated cyber police station for women. The cops said most of the cyber crimes registered by women included cheating by impersonation and harassment on social networking websites.

According to official statistics, the number of cyber crimes registered in the twin cities in 2014 was 19, which spiked to 85 in 2016. The police said half of the personnel at the proposed police station would be women.