Sylhet Bureau

Most of the CCTV cameras installed in the important places of Bianibazar city in Sylhet to keep the law and order situation and security system normal are broken. The project, funded by expatriates, has come to a standstill due to the use of very low-quality equipment and lack of proper maintenance. Residents have expressed concern about the overall security system of Biyanibazar municipality.

After Farukul Haque, the Present mayor of Bianibazar Municipality, was elected, the expatriates of Bianibazar took a big initiative to install CCTV cameras in the municipality. They sent money from abroad and installed CCTV cameras at important points of the city through municipal authorities. It is said to cost about 15 lakh rupees. Ashraful Islam, engineering department officer of Biyanibazar Municipality, said that 60 CCTV cameras were installed during the implementation of this project. Most are now destroyed. But we are trying to repair the damaged cameras. He said that the wires are torn due to various reasons including storm, rain, electricity pole change. It was not possible to repair them on time and keep them operational. This reduces the number of cameras.

At present, although CCTV cameras do not have a primary function in urban areas, they are used only for public viewing purposes. There are CCTV cameras on the wall or in front of different houses. However, most CCTV cameras do not have a monitor or equipment to store the footage. Again, the CCTV cameras installed on the streets in many areas have been broken for months, but no action has been taken by the concerned public representatives.

After investigation, it is known that various establishments and places including important public and private offices, business establishments are kept under the coverage of CC cameras. Important places of Biyanibazar municipality are brought under CCTV cameras. To some extent, the security system is ensured for the common people. Adverse events are reduced. Order began to return to the municipal area. Movement of people becomes safe. The night city was also safe. People of all classes and professions continue to get benefits due to CCTV cameras.

Abul Hasan, a member of the Biyanibazar Press Club, said that the authorities removed the broken CCTV camera in front of his business establishment. It was not installed after that. If regular monitoring and repair were possible, the cameras could be kept alive for a long time. But after a year the cameras started to fail.

According to sources, the contractor of the camera installation project has now moved to the United States. One of his nominees is there to repair the broken camera but it is not working. According to a related person, the monitor installed in the municipal office is regularly maintained. There is also a designated person for that.

Officer-in-charge (OC) of Biyanibazar police station Devdulal Dhar said that nowadays criminals are very much dependent on technology. Besides, they have their own sources. They are committing crimes in those areas knowing that there are CCTV cameras in some areas and not in some areas. As a result, in many cases, the law enforcement agencies have to get a lot of speed to catch the criminals. He requested for speedy repair of damaged CCTV cameras.