Only about 2 per cent of DDA parks have CCTV cameras

New Delhi: Of the total 736 parks, only 16 -- about 2 per cent -- have CCTV cameras, according to an internal park safety audit done by the DDA after the gangrape of a 17-year-old last month by three men posing as police personnel.

Delhi LG Tranjit Singh Sandhu ordered an extensive safety audit of all Delhi Development Authority (DDA) parks last week.

The land-owning agency has also divided all its parks into three different categories: High (190), Medium (258) and Low (288) for priority-based interventions.

Officials said immediate measures are being taken in high-risk parks, with bike patrolling already started, while DDA will depute armed guards in 134 parks.

“Five hundred and twenty parks identified for additional lighting provisions; 231 parks being taken up for immediate provision. Works completed in 106 parks on an immediate basis as per audit conducted last week,” DDA said in a statement.

CCTVs were available in 16 parks based on the safety audit, and 323 additional parks have been identified for installation of the cameras, it added. After the gangrape in DDA-managed Astha Kunj, questions have been raised about the proper management of these parks.

“One hundred and sixty-three parks have been identified for strengthening the access issues, where unlockable gates are converted into lockable gates,” DDA said further.

According to officials, DDA plans to strengthen its security with biometric attendance of security guards activated in 602 parks, and implementation underway in the remaining parks. Contact details of local police and beat officers have been disseminated to field staff and vice versa, along with sensitisation being conducted on incident reporting and police coordination. The coverage of contact-detail distribution is 100 per cent in all parks, it added.

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The Hans India