The government has taken an initiative to strengthen the security system of the secretariat, a key point installation of the country and heart of the administration, involving around Tk6.22 crore.
The Public Works Department has already started setting up a total of 622 closed-circuit televisions, three more monitoring rooms and seven watchtowers with a view to ensuring the security of the secretariat.
The PWD will initially set up 343 more digital and modern closed-circuit televisions inside the secretariat, raising the number of CCTVs from 192 to 535.
The initiative has been taken 10 years after setting up 192 analogue CCTVs as per the demand made by the Secretariat Security Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
According to the officials concerned, the department in 2004 installed 192 analogue CCTVs to monitor the security system of the secretariat. Of the total, around 72 CCTVs went out of order.
“It is very difficult for us to ensure the security of the secretariat through only one police control room,” Secretariat Security Branch’s Additional Deputy Commissioner Mashiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.
He added: “We have requested the Home Ministry to streamline the security system and install new CCTVs.”
“We failed to identify a complainant who claimed that his motorbike was stolen from the secretariat as the picture was not clear. He also could not identify himself watching the picture. As a result, we had to request the ministry to reinstall the CCTVs,” he added.
A total of seven watchtowers and three new monitoring rooms will also be set up to ensure the security of most important public establishments, Public Works Department Executive Engineer Shamsul Alam told the Dhaka Tribune.
Saying it was difficult for law enforcers to ensure security by using the 10-year-old analogue CCTVs, he added: “The pictures of most of the CCTVs are not clear enough to identify the persons or criminals if they enter the secretariat. So, new CCTVs are being installed.”
Shamsul said the department on June 17 awarded work order to Shinest Electronics Ltd, the lowest bidder. They will install the CCTVs within 75 days of the work order, he added.
They had already brought around 230 CCTVs. The rest are in the pipeline. These CCTVs will be installed soon in different important places of the secretariat.
The new monitoring rooms will be established at the Home Ministry, Public Administration Ministry and the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Secretariat Security Branch.
“It may take more time to complete installing the new CCTVs in the new monitoring rooms and watchtowers,” Shamsul said.
