PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has asked the home department and planning and development department to actively coordinate for successful implementation of the deadlines as envisaged in Peshawar safe city project plan.

While chairing a meeting, the chief minister was informed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Command, Control and Communication Centre would be established adjacent to the Sharqi police station and it would focus on monitoring of entry and exit points, public gathering spots, government buildings, educational institutions, hospitals, crime pockets, worship places, key infrastructure points, important road crossings, high value places and traffic congestion points, according to an official statement issued here on Saturday.

As per the initial plan, the key public installations to be monitored include government offices, LEA offices, Civil Secretariat, courts, railway station, bus stations, airport, grid stations, telephone exchanges, TV stations, VVIP security points, hotels, worship places, important educational institutions, shrines, public markets, processions and public security points.

As part of plan, 3,500 CCTV cameras will be installed in city

A total of 940 sites have been identified in Peshawar where 3,500 cameras will be installed, including 2,300 fixed cameras, 700 PTZ cameras and 500 facial recognition cameras.

The chief minister was informed that the preparation of PC-1, its approval from relevant forum, pre-bidding conference with interested firms and finalising and floating of pre-qualification documents would be finalised within six weeks. After the initiation of physical works, the project is expected to be completed within two years.

Mahmood Khan stated that the project would prove to be a milestone towards effective e-governance which would be extended to divisional headquarters after its completion in the provincial capital.

The project will be based on four major components, including Integrated Emergency Response System, Integrated Intelligent Counter Surveillance System, Intelligent Traffic Management System and Electronic Evidence Management System.

The chief minister stated that the project would help in establishing a centralised mechanism under one roof through which the government would monitor everything happening in Peshawar from monitoring of elections, natural disasters, terrorism-related incidents, traffic situation, Muharram processions, VIP visits, rallies, markets, etc.

Under the Integrated Emergency Response System, emergency call centre will be established for citizens, which will be responsible for prompt response on emergency calls and coordination with concerned quarters such as Rescue 1122, fire brigade, police station, district administration, etc.

Under the Integrated Intelligent Counter Surveillance System, IPNV cameras will be installed throughout the city, including vehicular cameras, for surveillance of the entire city and collection of evidence, which after completion of codal formalities, will be acceptable in courts.

The Intelligent Traffic Management System will help in real time monitoring of traffic in the city through installed cameras which will monitor traffic violations and illegal vehicles besides helping in prompt response, including issuance of e-challans.

Once implemented, the project will also be helpful in identifying areas with high crime rate and traffic violations, which will help in efficient deployment of law enforcing officials. The chief minister stated that the government was committed to improving the governance system by introducing technological reforms.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019