JOIN USAhead of the Durga Puja festival here, a network of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and CCTV cameras has been put in place to help the police keep an eye on festivities and prevent any untoward incidents.
The five-day Durga Puja festival begins on Tuesday and an estimated 3.5 crore devotees and revelers are expected to make their way to the streets. Senior police officers said that while drones will be used for aerial surveillance to prevent crimes, CCTV cameras will help police personnel ensure a relatively smooth flow of traffic.
Besides this, the network will play a big role in safeguarding women, who will come out to the streets in large numbers for the five days of the festival, even in the middle of the night.
Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) V Solomon Nesa Kumar said that several contingents of policewomen will be deployed just to look out for safety of women. “There will be hundred of constables and more than 450 trainee traffic sergeants on the city streets. The police will also put up CCTVs at all important intersections to ensure that festivities are safe and hassle-free.”
An official from the state home department pointed out that the UAVs can fly up to 250 metres and is part of the Centre’s “Safe City” project, which was first successfully implemented during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
“We have also used the drones during some major cricket matches at Eden Gardens and to manage traffic on busy days, but this would be the first time these drones are being used as an overall security blanket,” he said.
The official, however, refused to divulge how many drones will be used. The data that the UAVs gather will be transmitted to the control room at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar.
“The UAVs can track movements of a suspicious object or person over a diameter of five km. Their usual flight time is couple of hours, but with better technology available to us, we will be able to increase its operational time,” he said.