KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday reviewed the pace of work of installation of 1,300 surveillance cameras in different parts of the metropolis as part of the Karachi Safe City Project.

“I have got the work on the Phase-I of the long-awaited Safe City Project in Karachi accelerated,” he said while chairing a meeting held at CM House on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh and others.

The IGP briefed the CM on the progress of the project and said that 1,300 surveillance cameras would be installed at different locations.

To a question, the IGP informed the CM that so far 35 surveillance cameras had been made operational under the project and the work on the installation of remaining cameras was in progress.

The meeting was informed that the headquarters of the Safe City Authority was being established on Sharea Faisal, for which the land had been developed and handed over to the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).

The IGP said that data centre equipment, along with a video wall, had been installed at the control room at the Central Police Office (CPO), which has been receiving live monitoring through 35 cameras installed at seven locations.

The meeting was informed that surveys for installation of all 300 pole sites and 18 point of presence (POP) sites had been completed, right-of-way (RoW) approvals from all relevant stakeholders obtained and excavation and digging had been completed at 200 pole sites.

The CM was told that 50 poles had been installed so far.

As far as equipment is concerned, the CM was informed that all shipments from various companies had been received and safely stored, while five emergency response vehicles (ERVs) procured and branded.

To a question, the CM was informed that the allocation of 18 POP sites within police stations had been completed, with groundwork started following surveys and renovation estimates.

The chief minister said that the work done so far was a significant step toward establishing Karachi as a safer city through enhanced surveillance and response capabilities.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024