Surat is the first city in India to have a modern, real-time surveillance camera network. In the first phase, 104 surveillance cameras were installed at 23 locations together with a 280 square feet video wall, one of the largest in the country, at the city's police control room. As Gujarat chief minister, Narendra
Surat is the first city in India to have a modern, real-time surveillance camera network. In the first phase, 104 surveillance cameras were installed at 23 locations together with a 280 square feet video wall, one of the largest in the country, at the city's police control room.
As Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi had in January 2013 launched the project conceptualized by police commissioner Rakesh Asthana.
Work on Phase II is under way and it will include installation of 550 cameras at 282 location. In all, police plan to install 5,000 cameras across the city. The entire fund will be arranged with the help of donations.
The project began early in 2012 and was done in seven months. Police began trial runs by the yearend. In 2013, the Surat police gave a presentation on the project at a conference on urban security by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Delhi.
They were the only police force to do so. Surat was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister's award for excellence in public administration in the same year.