Upgrade for security apparatus at railway stations across Karnataka

South Western Railway has completed phase 1 of the project, under which nine railway stations were covered. (Source: THE HINDU)

In all, 31 stations under South Western Railway will be provided with Video Surveillance System (VSS) to enhance security at the stations. The system will cover waiting halls, reservation counters, parking areas, main entrance and exit, platforms, foot overbridges, and booking offices, among other spots.

This has been taken up using Nirbhaya funds and is being implemented across 983 stations over Indian Railways.

A release said SWR was given the target of commissioning VSS in nine stations in the first phase — Ballari with 33 cameras, Belagavi (36), Vasco da Gama (36), Bengaluru Cantonment (21), Bangarapet (36), Hassan (36), Krishnarajapuram (25), Shivamogga Town (24), and Sri Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam (20). They are all in place now. SWR is the first zone in Indian Railways to have completed work under phase 1, according to the release.

The Integrated Security System comprising CCTV cameras and baggage scanner at entry points was already put in place at Bengaluru, Mysuru and Yeshwantpur before the provision of VSS. CCTV cameras were earlier functional at Hubballi with 54 cameras, Hosapete (19), Koppal (8), Londa (13), Castle Rock (10), Vijayapura (6), Dharwad (6), Gadag (2), Bengaluru (71), Yeshwantpur (35), and Mysuru (34). Now, with the completion of phase 1 of VSS, SWR has functional CCTV systems at 20 stations, the release said.

Second phase

In the second phase of the project, VSS is planned in 21 more stations — Arsikere, Bagalkot, Banaswadi, Bhadravati, Vijayapura, Birur, Gadag, Harihar, Haveri, Hindupur, Hosapete, Hosur, Koppal, Londa, Mandya, Thorngallu, Tumakuru, Yelahanka, Davangere, Dharwad, and Kengeri. Work is expected to be completed by 2020-21.

The release said security personnel can monitor these cameras 24x7, not only from station control rooms but also from the Divisional Central Security control rooms located at the divisional headquarters at Hubballi, Mysuru and Bengaluru. This system has the features of video surveillance, face detection, detection of leftover luggage, among other things. Footage from all the cameras will be stored in a hard disk for up to 30 days and can be retrieved at a later date for analysis, the release said.