The government has undertaken a massive project to maintain law and order situation and control criminal activities by bringing Dhaka city under modern video surveillance system. The government will combat crime and ensure safety and security of the city people using digital technology.
In this regard, the home ministry has taken a project titled ‘Development of Dhaka City Digital Monitoring System’ which has been sent to the planning commission for approval. The estimated cost of Tk 2992.17 crore will come from the government exchequer. Bangladesh Police will implement the project by June 30, 2024 starting on November 1. The project aims to control terrorism and criminal activities in the entire city using digital technology.
The main activities of the digital security project for the Dhaka city will be installing CCTV Security Surveillance System, Intelligent Crime and Traffic Management System, Voice, Data and Video all-in-one Wireless Communication System and Gunshot Detection System. Under the project, police will install 50,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and motion sensors across the capital.
These cameras and devices will transmit footage and signals to the police control room in real time round the clock, alerting them about any suspicious gathering or movement and presence of any objects. The surveillance system will also help detect firearms, trace missing vehicles or lost devices, control traffic and track down wanted or missing people, according to officials at the police headquarters.
A senior official of the planning ministry told Bangladesh Post that the project evaluation committee (PEC) of the planning commission will evaluate the project proposal (DDP). After it is cleared, it will be placed before the executive committee of the national economic council (ECNEC) soon for its final approval, he added.
Once it implemented, it will be easy for monitoring entire Dhaka city through video surveillance using the modern devices. According to the project proposals, the traffic control cameras will keep an eye on capital's traffic movement round the clock. Specially designed cameras will send signals to the control room in case of a huge tailback on a certain street.
These cameras will also help track down vehicles wanted by the police by analysing the number plates. Once the cameras are installed, traffic police officials will not need to file any cases or collect fines from vehicle owners. Every vehicle owner will be provided with a prepaid card from where the fine amount will be automatically deducted. The motion sensors will have the capacity to detect specific sounds and locations. After a gunshot, for instance, the motion sensors will alert the central command centre with details of the sound, its origin, the spot and the hitting point.