Beware 30 CCTV cameras of Police now watching you in Bhatkal

Bhatkal 12 July 2018: (Bhatkallys News Bureau) The strength of police force in Bhatkal is no measure to the expanding population of the town, Bhatkal with a population of over 1 lakh has only two police stations which also has to look after traffic as there is no dedicated traffic police station for the town, it has become a daunting task for the Police Department to cover the entire town merely with the limited manpower, especially at a time when cases of housebreaks and robberies are at all time high. In order to tackle the issue and to deter the criminals, the Bhatkal police in association with Town Municipal Council (TMC) has brought the town under close circuit television camera coverage and has installed 30 cameras in different parts of the town. The cameras are monitored in a dedicated control room in the town police station campus, when asked about how the police select the areas to install cameras, Bhatkal CPI Ganesh told Bhatkallys.com "We have installed the cameras in crime prone zones and other primary locations of the town". 30 CCTV cameras were installed in two outings, sponsored by TMC, at first go the TMC installed 25 cameras at the cost of whooping 28 lac rupees, while in the second go the TMC has installed five more cameras taking the total tally to 30, however the cost of these five cameras has not been billed yet as those were installed recently. TMC work engineer Umesh while speaking to Bhatkallys.com said "The first set of cameras were installed at the cost of 28 lacs for 25 cameras, the second set of five cameras are wireless and high-tech with low maintenance cost, however those haven't been billed yet". Bhatkal Dy.SP Valentine D'Souza told Bhatkallys.com that the department is working out on bringing the crime rate and incidents down and that several plans are being implemented. "CCTV installations are one of the many plans we have with us right now to bring the crime rate down, we have also proposed a dedicated traffic police station for Bhatkal so the burden from police stations can be managed and they can completely focus on crimes and other cases, we are also working on the deployment of sufficient personnel in each police stations" Valentine added. (Bhatkallys News Bureau/ Ismail Zaorez)