Electronic eyes go blind at Soudha

Extraordinary security threats require extraordinary precautions. Yet, some of the vital government buildings in Bangalore, including the Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha continue to grapple with age-old security systems. Here’s the big loophole: The closed circuit cameras (CCTV) inside these installations are now outdated and yes, absolutely ineffective during night !

Sources reveal that the cameras at both the Soudhas remain totally non-functional at night, and the authorities there are still awaiting the government’s nod to install state-of-the-art security systems. “Most of the major crimes happen under the cover of darkness. But if we do not have the technology to monitor activity during night, what is the use of it ?” questions a security expert.

Of the 38 CCTVs at Vidhana Soudha, most can only provide unidirectional images and are not equipped with the latest Panning, Tilting and Zooming (PTZ) technology. Invariably, all these cameras turn blind after sunset.

It is not any different at the Vikasa Soudha. As police sources pointed out, not all of the 72 cameras there are funtional. As a cost-cutting policy, there is no server for these cameras. “Of the 72 cams, 18 are fixed ones and 56 are with PTZ technology. But there is no server, and most of these being 26x cameras, are low-end and don’t have the latest technology and software to store the information recorded,” said a source.

The cameras were installed  at a cost of Rs 1.40 crore in the early 2000s with four cameras placed atop Vikasa Soudha. But even these cameras, despite their capability to rotate 360 degrees, are now outdated since they can’t function in the night.

Lack of constant monitoring is another lacuna. “The cameras need to be monitored on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, which is absolutely not happening. There is an immediate need for high end cameras that function 24x7, and they need to be watched by the higher officials from the Intelligence Department,” explained an expert.

The facts


24 x 7
Monitoring of Vidhana Soudha is an impossibility with night-blind CCTVs.

Rs 1.4cr

The price of the now outdated cameras set up at Vikas Soudha.