KATHMANDU, Feb 28: The Metropolitan Police Range (MPR), Kathmandu, has said that it has set the target of installing 150 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) in the current fiscal year with the budget of Rs 30 million provided by the metropolis on Wednesday.
According to chief of the police range, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basanta Lama, police have already identified the spots in the valley where CCTV cameras are necessary.
“The MPRO has identified thousands of spots in the valley where CCTV cameras are needed,” he told Republica, “For now, we have set a target to install at least 150 hi-tech cameras in the most sensitive locations.”
He added that accident-prone areas have also been targeted for the CCTV camera installation.
CCTV cameras to be installed on roads in Thamel area
SSP Lama said that the Nepal Police headquarters will host a series of discussions starting from Thursday to finalize the specifications for the procurement of the new cameras.
“We will start discussing about the specifications for the new CCTV from tomorrow at the headquarters,” he said, “We will start the process for tender announcement after we reach a conclusion.”
He claimed that other municipalities in the capital should follow suit.
Amidst a program held in the capital on Wednesday, chief of
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shailesh Thapa Kshetri, chief of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner's Office and MPR chief SSP Lama representing the police force signed the agreement to this effect amid a function on Wednesday while Joint Secretary Tekraj Pandey and chief of Department of Information Technology of the metropolis Rajya Prakash Pradhanang signed the agreement on behalf of the metropolis.
Officials from the KMC told Republica that the budget provided to the police is a part of the budget allocated by the metropolis for installing CCTV cameras in the current fiscal year.
KMC Spokesperson Ishwar Dangol said that the metropolis decided to coordinate with the police under the new Community-Police Partnership Program.
It has been said in the agreement that the metropolis can continue allocating budget for the installation of CCTV cameras in an annual basis if the progress is found to be satisfactory.
