Even the most sophisticated of residential complexes leave out parking lots out of their CCTV coverage area, exposing residents to danger in dimly lit parking lots.
High-end security gadgets, CCTV cameras, monitor panels in control room, arc lights and the works. Most of the high-rise apartments in residential clusters in any city, boast of these 24X7 security with men and machines guarding entry and exit points, promising a safe and secure environment.
But have they all overlooked one dark spot, the usually dimly lit parking lots in first and second basements and stilt parking areas?
Most of the residential blocks do not have CCTV coverage of these areas, and even if some do the lighting is so poor that it hardly matters as to what they record as most of the visuals are dark and useless.
So, it was not a surprise that a 25-year-old Anjali Rathore, residing in Shatabdi Rail Vihar, Sector 62, Noida, stepped into a relatively darker area as she was going to her car parked in the basement. A person hiding in the darkness, allegedly her previous lover Ashwani Yadav, came up to her and shot her dead.
However, in the Anjali Rathore case, the shooting was captured on CCTV, after reviewing which the culprit was identified and nabbed by police.
But many a time, due to dark and dingy parking lots, CCTV footage is not of good quality. That is if any CCTV footage is available. Most of the times, there are no CCTV cameras in the parking lots.
Which is why incidents of crime are being increasingly reported from the highly “secure” residential complexes.
But more worrisome are the petty crimes, which are too small for making a police report but too big a nuisance for the victim. For example, a resident in a posh high-rise in Indirapuram has been complaining about repeated damage to the vehicles of his family, parked in the basement area. Residents of another posh apartment in Indirapuram had a strange coincidence: 15 different owners found their cars with flat tyres.
Clearly, there are some holes in the security environment being promised by the presence of uniformed guards and modern gadgets. It is these gaps that the criminals exploit. And most easily, one of the most important dark spots in the security environment is the dark spots themselves – dimly lit parking lots – basement and stilts.
Whether it is Noida or Greater Noida or Indirapuram – most high rises have left out this zone from the security coverage area.
After analysing recent trend in crime, City Spidey raised the issue of the importance of illuminating parking lots properly and installing CCTVs there to look in every nook and corner with different RWAs. A majority of the buildings surveyed by City Spidey did not have CCTV coverage of parking lots. A few that did have, the quality of CCTVs was very bad.
A handful of them in Indirapuram and Noida have CCTVs near the lift, leaving out rest of the parking area. This huge stretch of land is at the mercy of two guards on duty.
Incidents like this lover shooting dead his ex the other day only go to highlight how people are spending huge amounts of money on their houses, furniture, cars and goodies, but completely neglect the most important aspect of life – security. Spending a few hundred to a few thousand Rupees per flat can get the dark spots bathed inadequate light and get CCTVs installed.
For sure, the mere presence of CCTVs can help in enhancing security as also help the guards police the areas more efficiently. Besides, helping police in investigations, should the need arise, with useful video footage.
