Kochi: For the last over a year, almost all the 99 CCTV cameras installed to bring Kochi city under constant monitoring have been defunct, thanks to KELTRON backing off from the maintenance contract due to outstanding dues from the Kerala Police and also Kochi Metro works. However, it proved costly for the cops as the defunct CCTVs affected the probe in both the actor’s abduction and the CA student death cases with the police being forced to approach private parties such as shop owners and flat builders.
Sensing the seriousness of the issue, the Kerala Police finally took steps to bring the CCTV cameras back to life by paying Rs 33 lakh out of the total dues of Rs 78 lakh. After this, KELTRON started repairing the cameras and they will again function within three weeks. “For the last two weeks we have begun repairing to restore the cameras. We have to lay fibre cables again to connect the cameras to the control room after they were literally wiped out during the Kochi Metro works,” said S.P. Gopakumar, Project Manager, Keltron Communications, said. The cameras were installed at strategic points in the city by Keltron in three phases starting from 2010. However, the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for the cameras expired in March, 2014.
“Despite that we offered maintenance and technical service for another ten months without receiving any payment while we repeatedly requested renewal of the AMC. Eventually, we terminated the service support for the cameras in all the three cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode at the end of 2014,” Mr Gopakumar said. The new Annual Maintenance Contract for the cameras, that is being restored, would run for another three years, he said. The City Police is also setting up another 44 CCTVs, the work of which will be completed in the next four months. “We will set up 100 CCTV cameras on a war-footing,” a senior police officer said.
