THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A sum of Rs 53 lakh spent to install CCTVs along the Amayizhan-chan canal stretching from Bakery Junction to Upplamoodu to prevent dumping of garbage in the water body has gone down the drain.
Low-quality CCTVs were installed by Keltron, said the city corporation. A top official of Kerala sustainable urban development project (KSUDP), the agency which conceived the project, said that the project had failed miserably.
“Our aim was to record the images of the violators that could be archived and viewed on LED HDTV monitor. Around 37 cameras were installed to monitor the canal. Within a few days after the installation, the majority of the CCTVs became non-functional due to flooding and rain. Also, even during broad daylight our inspectors were not able to identify the faces of the offenders or the registration number of the vehicles,” said the official. The corporation has given an ultimatum to Keltron to make all CCTVs functional by June 15.
The civic body has complained to the Keltron general manager demanding repl-acement of all CCTVs with high performing units with night vision, longer range and high resolution to resolve the issue.
A senior official of Keltron criticised the demand of the civic body. “The civic body is not sure about what it wants from this project. In the initial stages itself we had briefed the civic body that the cameras are for general purpose. CCTVs are a deterrent and the health officials will have to do some field work to make the project more effective. It is impossible to zoom in and find out the registration number of the vehicles. If this is their demand, we will have to install multiple cameras for each purpose,” said the official.
The electrical meters of the CCTVs had stopped working due to flooding. “We have fixed the issue,” said the official.
