LAHORE: Since the inauguration of the Punjab Safe City project in October 2016, the successive governments seem least interested in rectifying the ‘faulty’ system of this Rs12 billion project to achieve the desired goals.

The project was based on the state-of-the-art AI technology, capable of facial recognition, vehicle number plate tracking, traffic management and fully integrated with the Punjab police.

As per a recently compiled report, 35 per cent of the total cameras are still non-functional even after the lapse of six years or so, keeping many major roads and other parts of the city out of surveillance.

The surveillance of the city through cameras has been a major segment of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) with a prime purpose to improve the capacity of the law-enforcement agencies to ensure timely response to the emergencies by equipping them with state-of-the-art technology.

35pc of total cameras non-functional even after six years; successive govts seem least interested in rectifying system

According to the document, out of total 7,678 cameras installed at various sites of the provincial capital Lahore, 2,500 are still non-functional as a result many areas have become crime-breeding grounds for hardened criminals.

Similarly, there were a total 66 Variable Messaging Systems (VMSs) and of them 64 were not functioning.

The systems were installed in Lahore to provide information to road users through VMS screens installed along the roads.

These screens were centrally connected with the Police Traffic Management System (PTMS) and road users were informed timely to plan their trip accordingly.

Most importantly, almost all the 1,000 facial recognition cameras were not functioning, a serious matter that required immediate attention, the report says.

An official said facial recognition has emerged as an advanced technology that is becoming more important world over for smart cities to enhance operational productivity and improve public safety.

He said in 2017, the Safe City cameras had tracked down the handlers of the terrorists who had carried out suicide attack on The Mall.

In this deadly attack, two senior police officers had rendered their lives besides some other citizens.

Even after six years or so, the authority was unable to ensure uninterrupted services because of multiple issues it was facing to rectify the entire system.

PSCA Chief Operating Officer (COO) DIG Kamran Khan confirmed to Dawn that the [above-mentioned] number of cameras and other services were not available and he blamed the multinational company for not providing the support in this regard.

He said the company was bound under the contract for the repair and maintenance of the cameras and other services.

Despite all odds, the authority made alternative arrangements to ensure surveillance of the entire city, he said.

For this, the COO said, the authority marked/identified 137,000 locations in the provincial capital to bring them under surveillance through the privately installed security cameras.

“These cameras are everywhere in the streets, squares, parks, shopping malls, markets, offices etc,” he said adding that there were plenty of challenges to optimising their use.

“We are trying to engage the private housing societies of the city through Lahore Development Authority (LDA) to get access to the cameras installed there locally,” he said.

He said the Safe City authority was discussing the legal and administrative issues with the owners of the housing societies to ensure privacy of the residents.

Similarly, the PSCA would also contact the owners of the other security cameras to get access while ensuring that the privacy would be maintained.

In addition, he said, the authority has installed cameras at the 11 new entry/exit points of the city including the one at the Sialkot Motorway.

“The Ring Road was also not under the surveillance of the authority but it has integrated 51 out of 60 cameras there,” the COO said adding that the PSCA was also in contact with the Mass Transit Authority to get access to 600 cameras installed at the metro tracks.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2022