Sambalpur, May 10: In a bid to enhance the safety and security of commuters, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed in some of the city buses recently.
The Paschim Odisha Paribahan Company (Popco), which has partnered with the government to run and manage the city bus here, has installed the CCTV cameras in 10 buses in the first phase.
"We asked the Western Odisha Urban Transport Service Limited, which is the apex body of the bus service here, to install the CCTV cameras on all the buses plying on the city roads. They have agreed to the proposal. However, as the process would take some time, we already installed the cameras in 10 buses on our own," said Popco chief executive officer Bipin Bhatia.
"We have installed the cameras in eight buses plying on the Jharsuguda-Sambalpur route and two on the Sambalpur-Bargarh one now," said Bhatia. While one camera has been installed in the buses plying on the Sambalpur-Jharsuguda route, three cameras have been installed in the buses running on the Sambalpur-Bargarh route. "This step has been initiated to enhance the security of the commuters, especially women," said Bhatia.
"Besides, the installation of cameras has also helped us monitor the buses and keep an eye on the unscrupulous elements such as eve teasers," said Bhatia.
He added that the urban transport service would also take steps for the installation of CCTV cameras in all the city buses. A control room would also be set up to monitor the buses.
The city bus service, which is operational on public private partnership (PPP) mode, began with only six buses on January 29 last year. However, total 32 buses have already been procured for the purpose out of which 29 are running on 12 routes.
Commuters and local residents have welcomed this initiative. "I am happy to know that the Popco is installing CCTV cameras in the city buses. Women will feel safer while travelling by those buses. This will prevent eve teasing and other harmful activities in the vehicle. Besides, this will also provide safety to the goods of the commuters," said Geeta Sharma, a local resident.
