The much-anticipated automated surveillance system of the Southern Railway, to be commissioned in several stations, is yet to take off.
With the railways having installed integrated surveillance security systems in only 14 stations, the project, which envisages the installation of CCTV cameras in 82 railway stations with assistance from the Nirbhaya Fund, is languishing due to administrative delays.
The murder of Swathi, an IT employee, at the Nungambakkam station in June 2016 brought to the fore the lack of surveillance in the public transport system. The Railway Protection Force, in association with the Government Railway Police, has been taking steps to protect commuters, particularly women passengers, by launching a special monitoring force and carrying out routine inspections of railway stations to offset the absence of an automated surveillance system. However, these measures are inadequate, as the recent incident of a girl being molested by a railway contract staff at the Taramani station showed.
An official said that initially, the project was planned to be commissioned by the Chennai division, and a call for tenders was made in 2016. But the contract had to be cancelled, and the RailTel Corporation, an arm of the Indian Railway, took over the implementation project.
While confirming that the project had been delayed, the railway official said RailTel was planning to install CCTV cameras in 136 stations of the Chennai division. Stations including Avadi, Ambattur, Chetpet, Nungambakkam, Pallavaram, Korukkupet, Kathivakkam, Taramani, Perungudi and Mylapore would be covered.