Key accident prone stretches in Melvisharam, a small town between Vellore and Arcot town on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway, has come under CCTV surveillance as the municipality and Ranipet district police have installed high resolution cameras at 60 spots within the civic body limits.
Officials of Melvisharam municipality said that the small town with over one lakh population is a crucial link for major towns like Vellore, Ranipet, Arcot, Walajah, Katpadi and Nemili as the town is located on the national highway that helps provide easy connectivity to residents from these towns.
“The CCTV cameras in the town help to enhance road safety measures by analysing road accidents and preventive measures that need to be taken based on the footage. It also helps to prevent crime on the highway,” P. Santhanam, Commissioner In-charge, Melvisharam municipality, told The Hindu.
Accompanied by Collector S. Valarmathi and D. V. Kiran Shruthi, SP (Ranipet), Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi inaugurated the cameras and the centralised control room to monitor the cameras at the municipality office in Melvisharam.
Funded under ‘Namakku Naame Thittam’ by the State government, the new cameras, which cost ₹23 lakh, were installed at 60 accident prone spots on two key stretches such as Annasalai to Kathiyavadi junction and Kathiyavadi junction to MMES College. The two stretches cover around 3 km in the town. These stretches are traffic congested because most of the commercial establishments and public utilities like banks, ATMs, post office, municipal office, schools and healthcare centres are located there. Also, these two stretches connect streets in the town with the national highway.
Municipal officials said that the civic body proposed the installation of CCTV cameras on key routes in the town to prevent accidents and crime.
Subsequently, the police identified accident prone spots and escape routes for offenders in the town and on the highway. In the first phase of the project, the two stretches have been covered. Later, big streets in the town will be covered. The integrated control room to monitor the footage is located at the municipal office, local police station and the SP office for better coordination during emergencies.
