Paradip: Police have drawn up a blueprint to bring the port township under complete CCTV surveillance as they look to keep a tab on criminals and law-breakers.

"Major portions of town will be brought under CCTV surveillance within a month. Thirty-two CCTV cameras will be put in place at strategic junctions, street corners, marketplaces and crime-prone areas. The project is being funded by the Paradip Port Trust as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative," said Paradip police station inspector Subhransu Sekhar Nayak.

The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 28 lakh. A round-the-clock CCTV monitoring centre has already come up at Paradip police station.

"The cameras will be able to track criminal activities once those are installed. During police-public interactive sessions, we instructed shop owners in marketplaces to install cameras which would deter criminals from striking their targets," the cop said.

"The cameras will assist us in checking crimes and keeping a track on criminals. We are obliged to the port trust for coming forward to fund the project."

With Paradip slowly emerging as a major industrial hub in the state, crimes such as robbery, snatching and extortion have shot up.

Daring crimes, including murders, have been committed in the port township in the past few years, the police said.

"The absence of camera for surveillance often made it difficult for the police to crack cases. The surveillance system would help bring down the number of crimes," said Nayak.