Pune police get ‘Integrated Command & Control Centre’, Bopdev Ghat CCTV Project activated

“Pune now has one of the most advanced CCTV projects in the country. This system has advanced CCTVs. It has night vision cameras. It has cameras that cover a 360 degrees area…. The system will be useful for watching the law and order situation at different locations, checking traffic violations, tracking criminal activities or monitoring any events,” he said.

Fadnavis also said that the advanced CCTV system had artificial Intelligence (AI) technology through which a suspect can be tracked by analysis of thousands of video footage in a short span of time. “This reminds me of the old song bachhe rehna re baba tuzpe nazar hai,” Fadnavis said.

The chief minister also explained that the CCTV system is “smart”, such that if any of its cameras stops functioning, it will immediately alert the command and control center.

“Those handling the maintenance of the system are supposed to repair the camera within 24 hours. Also, they should ensure that at any given point of time, not more than five percent of the cameras are closed. This is a robust and technologically advanced system for the safety and security of Pune,” he said.

Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner of Pune city police said that the “Integrated Command And Control Centre” is an important part of the CCTV project sanctioned for Pune city in the last year. It will analyse the CCTV videos and is connected to the police control room number 112, he said.

Kumar also said under the “Community Integration of Cameras” project, feed from as many 432 cameras installed under Smart City project, about 3,000 cameras of Pune metro project, cameras at bus stops, malls and other spots have been successfully connected to the “Integrated Command And Control Centre”. Besides, the process of mapping of several private CCTV cameras in the city is on, he said.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis also pointed out that “black spots” were identified in Pune city after the Bopdev Ghat gang rape incident.

“People visit these spots due to the natural beauty. But these are secluded spots prone to crimes. It was difficult for the police to keep a watch on these spots physically. So we decided to bring the black spots under surveillance using technology,” he said.

A woman was gangraped by three men at the Bopdev ghat on the night of October 3, 2024.

The incident had forced the police department and the government to take up steps for securing the hills and similar places in Pune city. Police then identified a total of 22 spots like Bopdev Ghat and other hills in Pune.

Government sanctioned funds for setting up CCTV cameras, flood lights, speakers and other equipment at these spots.

Accordingly, on an immediate basis, the “Bopdev Ghat CCTV Project” was undertaken.

A five-kilometer-long power line and a fibre optic cable of 10 kilometers were installed in the Bopdev Ghat area.
CCTV cameras with AI technology, high quality speakers and flood lights along with an “Emergency Call Box” were installed at Bopdev Ghat.

Police have been deployed during day and night at the police help center on the Bopdev Ghat, bringing it under CCTV as well as police surveillance for 24 hours.

During the inauguration of the CCTV project, a lady police personnel spoke to chief minister Fadnavis through the “Emergency Call Box” on Bopdev Ghat.

In his speech, Fadnavis said the remaining 21 spots in the city would also be equipped with similar facilities and have 24 hours CCTV coverage within the next two months.

Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar also inaugurated the advanced mobile surveillance vehicles that would perform like “mini control rooms” equipped with drones and AI analytics CCTV technology. They also did a virtual inauguration of the newly constructed building of Chandan nagar police station and performed “Bhumi Pujan’ for Nanded City, Loni Kalbhor Kharadi, Kondhwa police stations.

The ministers also felicitated joint commissioner of police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, social activists Yogesh Jadhav and Anita Rathod of ‘Mission Parivartan”, a project for bringing a change in the life of juveniles in conflict with law.

Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, other police officers and political leaders were present on the occasion.