RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi district administration is working on a plan to install electronic surveillance equipment to effectively monitor public gatherings and processions.
The interior ministry has set aside Rs50 million in the current budget to start work on the programme, said an official.
In the first phase, permanent cost-effective surveillance equipment would be installed in Rawal Town to monitor processions and public gatherings.
“A six-kilometre area of Rawal Town would come under the surveillance once it is put in place. It would be extended to other areas in the second phase,” District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sajid Zafar Dall told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.
He said that the government had to utilise around Rs30 million every year to engage surveillance teams, especially during Muharram and on Eid days, which puts an additional burden on the exchequer.
He said that the ministry of interior had previously hired surveillance teams on an emergency basis, which proved costly and relatively ineffective in terms of output. “On the proposal of the district administration, the home department allocated a separate amount under the head of ‘security and surveillance’ in the current budget,” he said.
The provincial government was also planning to establish regional offices of the Pakistan Information Technology Department (PITD) in Multan and Rawalpindi. The Rawalpindi regional office will be set up in the Potohar Town Facilitation Centre building, but no definite timeframe has been given for initiating work on the plan, the official said.
He said that instead of waiting for the new scheme to materialise, the district administration had suggested purchasing surveillance equipment which can be integrated with the command and control centre in Lahore. “The Rawalpindi district administration was even ready to carry out the programme with its own resources,” the DCO said.
Around 11-kilometre of Nullah Leh would also be included in the surveillance programme, he said, explaining that in the first three year, the surveillance programme would be outsourced.
He said that in the meanwhile, the district administration staff would be trained by officials of the Pakistan Information Technology Board (PITB) in three shifts to take full responsibility of the surveillance programme. He said that after completion of the training, two officials per shift would be enough to handle the surveillance programme every shift.
He said that 17 companies including Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, Hawei and Nescom have shown expression of interest (EOI) to give their input in the training programme.
He said that once in place, the surveillance programme would help in counting the number of people in procession besides identifying vehicles.
“The surveillance system will not only have the ability to identify vehicles number plates but also recognise faces of persons in its range.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2014.
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Its a good and much needed steps in current law and order situation, I think we should appriciate this and like work.