Udhayanidhi inaugurates ICCC to monitor cameras in MTC buses

CHENNAI: Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday inaugurated the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) building at MTC headquarters constructed at Rs 4.72 crore and CCTV cameras fixed in buses, depots and bus terminus.

Minister Udhayanidhi inaugurated the safety features at the function presided over by Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department Minister PK Sekarbabu. Transport department Secretary K Gopal and MTC Managing Director A Anbu Abraham also participated in the function.

To ensure the safety of women and child passengers, under the union government-sponsored Nirbhaya Fund, Rs 72.25 crore was allocated to the MTC to install cameras and panic buttons on 2500 buses, depots and bus terminus beside the construction of an integrated command and control centre.

As part of the project, CCTV cameras, mobile network video recorders, panic buttons and loudspeakers were installed in the 2330 buses, and cameras were installed in 63 depots and bus terminus in the second phase.

A total of 6,990 CCTV cameras, 9,320 panic buttons and loudspeakers have been installed in all the buses and CCTV cameras have also been installed at 66 locations covering bus termini and bus stops. The two-storey 5000 square feet ICCC building has a 40X7 feet video wall to be monitored and manned by 16 computer operators. It would act as the nerve centre for responding to any calls triggered when the panic buttons in the buses are pressed.

Chief Minister MK Stalin on May 14 last year launched the first phase of the project with the cameras installed in 500 buses on a trial basis, the release said, adding that so far no incidents affecting the safety of women and children happened in the bus that required pressing of the panic buttons.