UP seeks Rs.30 crores to install CCTVs in buses

Lucknow, July 15 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh has sought Rs.30 crore from the central government to install CCTV cameras in its 9,600 buses.

The state has sought money from the Nirbhaya fund, created in memory of the Delhi woman who was gang-raped in a bus two years back.

In a letter to the union transport ministry, the state government has said that incidents of crimes related to women needed to be contained in public transport. It proposed to install CCTVs alongwith digital video recording systems (DVRs) in its fleet of 9,600 buses running on state roads.

Officials say in case of an emergency such as molestation, the buses would be equipped with systems in which at the touch of a button, an alarm would be set-off in the transport head quarters and immediate action taken.

The state transport corporation also proposes to link this camera to the women's powerline 1090, already functional in the state.

Mukesh Mesharm, managing director of the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), confirmed the proposal to the central government and said all buses of the state have been connected to a GPS tracking system.

He said they are awaiting sanction of the funds by the union transport ministry after which the CCTVs would be installed.

Sources in the union transport ministry told IANS from New Delhi that they were in receipt of the proposal and it has been sent to the approval and selection committee and a decision would soon be taken based on a detailed project report which has been sought from the state government.