500 liquor shops to be under IP CCTV watch

CHENNAI: As more complaints against MRP violations were reported, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac), the monopoly in selling liquor in Tamil Nadu, has decided to install internet-based high-resolution IP CCTV surveillance cameras in 500 liquor shops, which were identified as “vital and sensitive.”

A total of 4,829 retail liquor shops were functioning across the state as of November 2023. “Though about 3,000 liquor shops were already provided with CCTV cameras, the clarity of the video footage from the ‘lenses’ is was poor,” a senior Tasmac official, seeking anonymity, told DT Next. “For the installation of high-resolution IP CCTV surveillance cameras in 500 liquor shops, we have already formed a central monitoring team in the headquarters at Chennai,” he said adding “and for the first time, the monitoring teams have also been established in regional Tasmac offices across the state.”

The objective of this project is to implement integrated video surveillance systems for retail vending shops and monitoring at other offices of Tasmac. It is to clearly monitor the cash receipt, cash storage and the salesmen transacting it. The official said, “It ensures availability of footage from these cameras for effective use as valid source of evidence during probes.”

Explaining about the advantage of IP CCTV surveillance cameras, the official said, “it will provide storage of 7-day feeds at local retail vending shops and 30-day feeds at district monitoring centres.”

“In addition, the cameras will allow the seniors officials of Tasmac to review the status of a particular shop if such a need arises,” he said adding “in the end-points where IP cameras are installed, provision for Inverter or UPS with backup up to a minimum of 12 hours (at full load) will be available.”

He said, “most importantly, the details of the retail vending outlets, district where the cameras were switched off will be reported to both central and regional monitoring teams.”

Accordingly, he said the motion detection activities with alerts during non-working hours will also be provided by the cameras. “Each member of the both central and regional monitoring team will be provided with an App to monitor the activities of liquor shops,” he added.

The official said that the installation of IP CCTV surveillance cameras will be handed over to a concerned technical organisation after floating a transparent tender in this regard. “The installation of CCTVs will be done in January or February 2024,” he said.