Kozhikode: Acting on increasing complaints from students, parents and other commuters on harassment while travelling, the traffic police and Motor Vehicle Department have decided to install Closed Circuit TV cameras in private and school buses.
Two weeks ago, a group of school students filed a complaint with the Traffic police citing the harassment they faced in a bus plying from the city to Feroke. Notices will be issued to the bus operator soon.
The decision to instal CCTVs was taken to ensure better security to passengers and school children who largely depend on these private buses to reach their destinations. Talking about the initiative, Regional Transport Officer C.K. Paulson told DC that two CCTV cameras were required to be installed in each bus, one in the front and one at the rear end.
“Both the cameras should be of high-quality and should be able to do digital video-recording”, he added.
“All the cameras must have a 15-day memory and the school buses and the bus owners should keep a minimum of six months’ backup of the recordings,” he explained. This system will also help bus owners avoid any kind of crime including robbery in their respective vehicles.
“School students being harassed in private buses are a usual scene and we have been getting several complaints including issues of malpractices by conductors and even physical harassment”, said Yusaf N, Traffic Police official.
Installing cameras would help police and bus owners monitor the happenings inside a bus. This would also help in curbing the increasing cases of robbery inside private buses, he added. Parents of students had also demanded installing cameras in school buses to ensure the safety of children.
