In January, the Rawalpindi Safe City initiative will commence
Rawalpindi: In January of next year, the interim government of Punjab will install 350 CCTV cameras in Rawalpindi for Rs10 billion to ensure that the garrison city is adequately monitored.
The completion timeframe for the endeavour is one year, as stated by officials.
The cameras would be linked to a control center that would be established within the office of the city police officer.
According to a senior district administration official, an initial plan for installing over 450 CCTV cameras was abandoned in favour of 350 CCTV cameras to be placed in various squares and highways following a new survey.
One year will require the installation of at least 350 cameras for Rs10 billion.
As per the authorities, certain areas were already equipped with operational law enforcement agency cameras; therefore, these areas would be excluded from the new initiative.
The official stated that the provincial caretaker administration had approved the project. It is worth noting that the initiative received approval from the caretaker government during a cabinet meeting in October. It submitted a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan in August requesting authorization for this endeavor.
Surveillance cameras will be deployed at critical locations, such as bazaars, mosques, railway stations, and entry and exit points to Rawalpindi.
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Similarly, the initiative will encompass critical bridges, police stations, prisons, and courts.
The official stated that the optical fiber would be buried for these cameras.
He stated that the Punjab Information Technology Board would install every camera before transferring the initiative to the Safe City Authority.
Comparable to Lahore, the garrison city’s secure city initiative would be integrated with the traffic management system to issue e-challans to rule violators and enforce regulations.
Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha affirmed that the undertaking will cost Rs10 billion. It will assist law enforcement and administration maintain order, specifically in religious gatherings and cricket matches. He added that because the district administration “rents CCTV cameras” for installation along the route of Muharram processions and cricket matches, this endeavor would also result in substantial cost savings.
In defending the necessity of this megaproject, the commissioner stated that the new technology was essential for civic facilities due to the growth of the population.
The authorities had initially intended to allocate Rs23 billion towards this undertaking.
The projected cost was substantially reduced after rationalizing expenditures and the quantity of CCTV cameras.
The commissioner affirmed that the CPO office would house the control room. “A grey structure has been completed at the CPO office; the building will be modified as necessary,” he stated.
Given that a comparable surveillance initiative is in operation in the neighboring federal capital, the joint venture between the Rawalpindi project and its counterpart in the federal capital will enhance law and order.
The caretaker administration would initiate a similar initiative in Murree after Rawalpindi.
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