Rural Cops Mandate That Each Village Must Fund At Least One CCTV Camera
Updated: Apr 3, 2018, 02.30 AM IST
Diktat issued to tackle constant manpower shortage; SP says they will also bolster each Gram Suraksha Dal
After claiming to have successfully executed the ‘Ek Gaav, Ek Ganpati’ (one village, one Ganpati) and ‘Tanta Mukti Samiti’ schemes for the last nine years, Pune rural police have now come up with another idea to better manage the villages under them, especially in the face of constant manpower shortages.
Now, district superintendent of police (SP) Suvez Haque on Monday announced at Indapur police station that each village will have to install at least one closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera, funded by contributions from rural residents.
The intention behind the unexpected announcement is to curb the number of crimes out of these areas, by maintaining a constant watch on their main pockets. With over 20-40 villages to keep an eye on, rural cops are currently struggling with a personnel crunch.
Haque explained to Mirror, “Each police station in the district has been assigned two major tasks, with a deadline of two months. One is our ‘One CCTV Camera In One Village’ scheme, under which people will have to contribute some funds to install cameras at their main village chowk. The installation of at least one such camera is mandatory. Each police station concerned will appeal to the people to come forward to contribute for the same.”
And that’s not all. “The second task will be to build and strengthen the existing Gram Suraksha Dal (village security force) in each hamlet under us. As per this plan, a group of 20-25 young villagers will be enlisted to patrol areas around the village at night to avoid incidents like robbery and more. Police stations will provide badges and sticks to these volunteers,” said Haque.
Villagers had mixed opinions about these goals. Wagholi village resident Natraj Satav said, “The area of our village is huge at some 15 square kilometres, but in comparison, the lack of personnel in the police force is evident. This concept of installing cameras using public contributions is a welcome move. It will help police crack more cases.” Wade-Bolhai village resident Sachin Gawade agreed, “We spend so much money on tamashas, temple constructions and annual jatras or festivals. Some part of this cash can be saved for a more noble cause, too. The fear of being captured on camera will help reduce crime here. Plus, the cost involved in this is also not too much — it is affordable. This scheme will help people understand the benefits of CCTV, as most serious crimes are detected via these cameras.”
Tukapur village sarpanch Ganesh Pujari, however, had a different view. “Big villages may be able to afford such contributions, but what about the smaller villages in remote areas? Fine, even if locals are able to install such equipment in their village, what about maintenance and preservation of data? Uninterrupted power supply is also a big issue. While implementing this concept, all these aspects needed to be considered,” he said.
The ‘Ek Gaav, Ek Ganpati’ concept was started in 2009 by Pune rural police, and later adopted by the entire state. It was meant to stop competitions that erupted among local mandals (youth groups) in villages, each of which used to organise and display their own idols for Ganeshotsav. These tussles were a major cause of law and order situations, but bringing all the groups together to install only one idol helped curb the disturbances.
Source : Pune Mirror
