KARACHI, June 1: Two young men riding a motorcycle intercepted another motorcyclist on the main Rashid Minhas Road in Gulshan-i-Iqbal in the evening. One of the two men alighted from his vehicle with a pistol in his hand, snatched the cellphone from the motorcyclist and the two rode away. The robbers finished their job within a few seconds but they were unaware of the fact that they had been caught in a surveillance camera installed by the city government to monitor and ensure a smooth flow of traffic on its two signal-free corridors.

The recording of the incident and many other similar acts is with the city government’s Command and Control Centre and was shown to a group of newsmen during a recent visit to the centre, which is working on an experimental basis.

The command and control centre was initiated by the city government for effective traffic management through surveillance cameras and modern technology on its two signal-free corridors. However, the system would not only benefit the commuters in maintaining smooth flow of vehicular traffic but also help the Karachi police in bringing down the crime rate.

The city government installed some 54 surveillance cameras at different points on its two signal-free corridors leading from Sharea Faisal to Site and Surjani Town, respectively, and connected them with the centre situated at the Civic Centre.

The centre is the liaison point between the traffic and regular police and the city government as two DSPs, one each from the traffic and watch and ward departments, will have their offices at the centre from where they can also keep a watch on every activity on the two corridors.

Every movement on the two corridors is being witnessed by officials working in the command and control centre on their screens and whenever any traffic jam occurs, they contact personnel of the traffic and community police already deployed on roads to remove the hurdle and maintain uninterrupted flow of traffic.

The centre would record every activity on the two corridors round the clock and it has the capacity to store one month’s video data. Besides, the police wireless system has also been installed at the centre.

Official sources told Dawn that once the centre started normal functioning, street crimes on the two busy corridors would drop.

They said that in case of an act of crime, the duty official at the command and control centre would immediately contact police patrolling on different spots of the two corridors and inform them about the details of the incident. “It would be very difficult for the criminals to escape as we will have all details regarding their looks, registration number and make of their vehicles. This will lead to a gradual reduction in the crime rate on the two corridors,” said an official.

However, the sources maintained that the aim of the new system was to help in regulating vehicular traffic and to monitor violation of municipal laws. “The community police will remove all traffic impediments, including encroachments, vendors etc to maintain smooth flow of traffic,” the official said, adding that the system would also expose policemen taking bribes instead of regulating traffic.

At a later stage, the city government would install cameras on other busy thoroughfares of the metropolis also.