SHILLONG, Nov 24: Some surveillance cameras operated through the Integrated Control and Command Centre (ICCC) across Shillong have a face recognition feature.
Commissioner and Secretary of the Urban Affairs Department, Vijay Kumar D told The Shillong Times that the ICCC is envisaged as the brain for city operations, city surveillance, an emergency response system, and a helpdesk.
The ICCC function areas include increasing situational awareness by providing insights using data for civic officials across urban functions through sensors across the city and standardising response protocol at the city level through the institutionalisation of standard processes for recurring events, issues, and exigency scenarios.
The ICCC is also expected to enhance collaboration across multiple departments within and outside urban local bodies and government bodies, institutionalise data-driven decision-making for regular operations and during crises across levels of city functionaries from operators to city administrators, and engage with on-field support staff to address civic issues and citizen grievances.
According to Kumar, 328 cameras have been installed under the City Surveillance System. Of these, 20 are face recognition cameras and videos from all the cameras can be monitored 24×7 from the control centre and recorded continuously for any post-event examination.
“The surveillance system is likely to act as a deterrent to illegal activities, improve law-and-order situation, assist the law enforcement agencies by providing pre- and post-event information, provide an environment or atmosphere for citizens to feel safer, quick response, and evidence-based action (pre- and post-event) by the authorities,” he said.
The initiative incorporates an Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) with 20 Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras installed at junctions identified by the traffic police.
“Through these cameras, traffic can be monitored 24 hours a day and recorded continuously for any post-event examination. Through the ITMS, the number plate of a vehicle violating traffic rules such as overspeeding, wrong parking, etc., can be recorded. This will help reduce traffic rule violations leading to improved traffic flow and accidents in the city,” he said.
The ICCC also has a Solid Waste Management System involving 50 garbage trucks with GPS and about 200 smart bins.
The smart bins coupled with algorithm-based routing of waste pickup trucks and biometric attendance for tracking the deployed human resources are likely to improve the efficiency of waste collection and its disposal.
Kumar further said that Wi-Fi points (hotspots) will be established across the city to provide free Wi-Fi to the citizens. A public address, installed at 58 locations across the city, would help the authorities handle any emergency through announcements from the control centre.
Emergency call boxes have been installed at 42 locations across the city. Through this feature, citizens needing help at any time can push a call button connected to the control centre and seek help.
A total of 700 street lights have been converted into smart lights; they can be controlled for switching off, switching on, or reducing the intensity of the lights. This is likely to reduce power consumption and enhance public safety, especially after sunset.
Forty variable messaging displays (VMDs) have been installed across the city. Any message, video, graphics, etc., can be displayed on these VMDs envisaged to help in traffic management, situation management, and dissemination of information across the city.
