Tirupati: The Tirupati urban district police have set a new record on YouTube as the videos shared by them have got as many as 10 million views by netizens.
Though the YouTube channel was started in 2011, it became active in 2012, and started generating revenue from 2014. Until now, the police have earned about $1,000 by sharing these videos.
The police have uploaded about 766 videos till now and all of them have been watched by millions. The intension of the police to make people aware of road accidents, pickpocketing, traffic violations has been well received. All videos are uploaded on their YouTube page ‘Central Command Control UPD’ and the same are shared on the their Facebook page — Tirupati police.
The police are happy that their videos — meant to create awareness — are popular among netizens. The police had also created and segregated videos into four playlists like live accidents, traffic violations, general awareness, thefts and crime videos. The activity has risen as the city and its surroundings have about 8,813 CCTV cameras installed by private parties, apart from the 303 installed by the police. Private parties also give footage to the police, when anything unexpected is recorded.
There are about 3,193 CCTVs in Tirupati east, 2,750 in the west zone, 705 in Srikalahasti, 903 in Tirumala and 1,263 in Renigunta. Most of the cameras were installed recently as Tirupati urban district SP has instructed all commercials units and apartments to strictly follow the guidelines of Andhra Pradesh Public Safety Act. It may be recalled that about 1,000 shops have received notices for not installing CCTV cameras.
The police has also installed 40 PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) cameras and another 50 are in queue. These cameras can be zoomed up to 350 metres and can view 360 degrees.
Speaking to this newspaper, DSP, Mr Sudhakar Reddy said, “We are happy that many people are becoming aware after watching our videos. We have got a good response from them. This has been possible due to the new CCTV cameras installed recently. SP Abhishek Mohanty was particular in this regard, and his efforts have paid off as about 8,800 private CCTV cameras were installed. In recent times, we have cracked many crimes with the help of these cameras.”
