G20 Summit: 1,400 CCTVs to be monitored from centralised control room
Around 25 trained personnel have been monitoring footage from the 1,443 CCTV cameras since September 5
The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4i) control room located in the police headquarters at Jai Singh Road is, undeniably, the nerve centre of the security apparatus surrounding the G20 Summit.
Officers there will keep watch on security and traffic at different locations during the Summit over the weekend. The control room has been connected with 1,443 new CCTV cameras installed recently across the city to monitor the movement of dignitaries, Delhi Police officials said on Thursday.
The control room may have been readied in anticipation of the Summit, the biggest event hosted by the city in terms of the number of heads of State attending (over 40), but it will outlive the summit, adding to Delhi Police’s crime- and terror-fighting capabilities.
Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Thursday visited the control room on the sixth floor of Delhi Police headquarters in central Delhi. Police commissioner Sanjay Arora briefed him about the security preparedness and details of the control room. The Union home secretary visited the control room on September 1.
Around 25 trained personnel have been monitoring footage from the 1,443 CCTV cameras since September 5. Of these cameras, 373 have been installed near Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the main Summit venue.
“Besides, 74 cameras have been installed at Kartavya Path, 56 at Parliament Street, 40 at Barakhamba Road, 21 at Connaught Place and 20 at Rajghat. Since Chanakyapuri has many embassies, we have installed 80 CCTV cameras there,” a senior Delhi Police officer said, asking not to be named.
There will also be surveillance in the areas neighbouring Lutyens’ Delhi through 690 cameras. “These CCTV cameras, focused on embarked areas, will observe the psychological and physical characteristics, traits and behaviour of people coming to place of visit as invitees or those who need to be there to perform a specific function,” the officer added.
Detailing the features of the control room, the officer said: “This control room has three walls with LED screens and two teams comprising 25 security personnel will be monitoring feeds in different shifts. Apart from the new CCTV cameras, the feed will also get inputs from the existing 5,000-odd CCTV cameras . At least 30 senior police officials have been deputed in the room too.”
If a problem is identified, the control room will alert police officers of the areas concerned. “Nearly 7,000 police personnel on the ground will be directly connected to the control room, to further act as per the instructions. They have been especially trained for this purpose,” the officer said.
A second senior officer said that the supervisors of the control room have been asked to alert a DCP-rank sector officer is any of the equipment is found to be malfunctioning. “A map indicating the zones of security arrangements has also been placed in the control room. The supervisor will also ensure that no monitor is left unattended. The officer will prepare a chart showing the location and place to be covered by pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) and Fixed CCTV cameras.”