No footage of suicide as three CCTVs on sea link not working

Of the three cameras that are working,one is near the Worli sea face,another at the Bandra end,while the third is at the second cable-stayed bridge towards Worli.

“We have initiated the process of repairing the camera at the main cable-stayed bridge and the work will be completed tomorrow. However,the other two cameras will take some time to be repaired,” the official said. However,Mumbai Police officers said the existing cameras are not enough to closely monitor the 4.7-km stretch.

“We had asked the MSRDC for the footage but officials said it is not available. When we enquired why the incident had not been recorded,we were told that some cameras were not functional,” said an officer.

Traffic Police officers also questioned the quality of the footage available and criticised the positioning of cameras. “There is a shortage of cameras on the stretch. The quality of the recordings is also not very good. This may stem from the fact that the cameras have been installed at heights to ensure that vehicular movement is captured. MSRDC also provides footage to the traffic control room,but we have not been getting the feeds regularly of late,” said a senior officer,who did not wish to be named.

The traffic control has not been receiving real-time CCTV footage for nearly a year now as the fibre optic cable that was laid to transmit images was damaged last year and has not been repaired since.

“We had sent a letter to the Mumbai Police saying we are willing to pay for the repair and maintenance of the cable if they can identify a company to provide the service,” an MSRDC official said,adding that the issue was not followed up.

Lack of sufficient security at the sea link has often drawn flak. Ever since it was inaugurated in 2009,at least three persons have jumped off unnoticed. (see box)

In June 2009,D Sivanandhan,the then Mumbai Police chief,had written to the MSRDC emphasising the need for security equipment for the sea link. Accordingly,the MSRDC had to procure gantry-based explosive detection scanners,high-speed motorbikes,porta cabins,speedboats,towing vans,walkie talkies,a floating jetty and an observation tower,among other items,for which it had floated tenders but did not get any response.

“We have been asking the Mumbai Police to send us technical specifications for the equipment we have to procure but have not got a comprehensive response,” the MSRDC official said. The agency,however,plans to procure two scanners from Bharat Electronic Ltd by the end of the year to detect passage of any explosives.