KARACHI, Aug 2: The city government has turned down a proposal of the Sindh police who sought authority to operate the CDGK’s recently established command and control system mainly for traffic management.

Sources in the traffic department of the police said the proposal was floated by police high-ups at several meetings with the city government hierarchy, which appeared least interested in taking them onboard while controlling and managing traffic in different parts of the city by utilising the command and control system.

City government officials, without commenting on the proposal, argued that the local authorities had spent Rs110 million to establish the command and control centre to monitor signal-free corridors I and II through video surveillance, so there was no justification for handing over the project to other agencies.

“The city government has allowed law-enforcement and intelligence agencies access to the system to monitor crime and other negative activities keeping in view that it might help curb crime in the city,” said a city government official, who is privy to the discussions between the two sides.

“They are even willing to utilise our project for their aims under our guidance and control of the system. But the problem with traffic police high-ups is that they want authority over our system, a demand which does not sound reasonable. We are ready to extend each and every facility to the law enforcers but under our own command and operations of the system.”

The city government’s arguments, however, fail to convince the traffic department, which has finally given up its plans to utilise the command and control system. But the authorities at the Central Police Office insist that the traffic management and control is solely part of the police’s job, which cannot be shared with civic agencies.“We believe that the system can be utilised for a better traffic management in the areas under video surveillance and can be monitored through the city government’s command and control system,” said a senior traffic police officer. “But they (city government) insist on deputing an officer of the centre, who is guided by city government staff for traffic control. It seems ridiculous that the police should be guided in the job they specialise in.”

“Though monitoring of the city areas are limited,” he said, adding that the police wanted to use the project as they planned to introduce their own project for traffic control and management.

“Since there has been no positive response from the city government, we have stopped pressing for it,” said the officer. “Still one of our officers attends the command and control centre everyday to be in touch with the city government monitoring staff, though it hardly yields any effective results.”The city government formally launched operations of its command and control system in June 2008, which allows surveillance of two signal-free corridors — Sharea Faisal to Site and Surjani Town — with 54 cameras monitoring and recording movement of vehicles and people mainly in former districts East and West.

Though the Rs110 million project was initially aimed at monitoring and securing civic infrastructure, including flyovers, bridges and underpasses, the city government later allowed access to the police and other agencies to help ease traffic congestion, identify criminals and prevent crime.

The police authorities appreciate the city government’s project but want their involvement more than is allowed by the local administration. But at the same time they find no justification against the city government argument of heavy investment in the project, which gives reason to the local administration to operate under its own plan.

“We would be more than happy to assist our law-enforcement agencies to design a parallel system of their own and operate it with their own mechanism,” said the city government official.