Even as the government and enforcement squads are making tall claims about digital enforcement activities, the condition of most surveillance cameras which were installed to zero in on road rule violators in the city is pathetic. No effort has come from the authorities to repair or replace the damaged cameras with a suitable annual maintenance contract.
Official records show that only 28% of the total number of surveillance cameras are now functional. Though there are 76 cameras covering all key locations, only 22 are operational.
The police also admitted to the faulty functioning of cameras in a recent reply to a Kochi native under the Right to Information Act. The official reply also confirmed that there were 56 dysfunctional surveillance cameras.
The road surveillance cameras installed by the Motor Vehicles Department in various locations too have a similar plight thanks to lack of timely maintenance or replacement of destroyed pieces. Though a 24x7 control room is functional at the MVD’s Chevayur office for live monitoring of vehicles and issue of notices to offenders, the faulty cameras have almost derailed the project owing to their poor coverage.
Police sources said the faulty functioning of cameras had also emerged as a threat to gathering evidence pertaining to various cases. In the absence of sufficient number of own cameras, investigation teams largely depend on visuals collected from private surveillance cameras, they revealed.
The lack of a proper annual maintenance contract is seemingly playing spoilsport in restoring the damaged surveillance network. According to sources, the delay in releasing the maintenance fund has doused the spirit of several expert agencies in the sector.
Though officials claimed that they had already taken up the issue with the department, a positive reply is yet to come.
In an attempt to temporarily manage the crisis, the police have also started attempts to improve the frequency of day and night patrol in areas where surveillance cameras remain disconnected. Officials attached to the city traffic police said road enforcement activities had also been strengthened in such areas using manual checking methods.