Guwahati, Sept 2: A state-of-the-art surveillance camera project, encompassing the entire city of Guwahati, would be launched soon with the aim of securing life and property of the residents of the city, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced here.
“A state-of-the-art surveillance camera project encompassing the entire city will be launched soon and Cabinet approval to spend Rs 250 crore for the same has already been granted. Further, adequate number of streetlights would be installed across Guwahati,” Sarma said during the inauguration of a 36-bigha botanical garden in the city’s Fancy Bazar locality that once housed the Guwahati Central Jail.
Notably, the city had witnessed a spurt in the crime rate towards the end of 2022, even as the city police had in January this year claimed that Guwahati had recorded the lowest crime rate last year since 2018.
According to city police, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been installed at 20 traffic junctions on GS Road but the cameras are not equipped with surveillance features to check and help curb crimes.
The chief minister also spoke about the number of ongoing and upcoming projects meant to transform Guwahati into the “Gateway to the South-East Asia”.
“The first phase of the river-front development project along the bank of river Brahmaputra near Kachari Ghat shall be inaugurated for public use very soon,” he said.
“Further, public parks will be built on the land in Chandmari currently housing the offices of flood control and irrigation. Plans are in place to build an “urban forest” at Borbari,” Sarma said.
The chief minister also stated that deliberations are going on to construct embankments surrounding the Deepor Beel that would provide cycling and walking spaces for people.
“The ongoing construction of the inland water terminal near Fancy Bazar on completion will lend a huge boost to the city’s tourism potential and provide an experience similar to the ones available in South-East Asian such as Singapore and Malaysia,” he said.
The botanical garden, which has been built at a cost of Rs 59 crore, has 85,000 plants belonging to more than 230 indigenous species of flora. Besides, a space of around 2.08 acres has been dedicated for medicinal plants in the botanical garden.
Sarma said the botanical garden would provide ample open space for the people to spend time and explore the repository of indigenous and rare species of flora of the region. “Though there is dedicated walking zone and play zone for children, among others, the primary aim has always been to develop it into a botanical garden,” the chief minister said.