Picture used for representative purpose only.
After two recent incidents in the NCR involving swimming pool accidents, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has decided to ensure such cases are not repeated. In two separate incidents, a 5-year-old died after falling into a septic tank in South Delhi and a 9-year-old lies in a critical state after being stuck in the suction pipe of a swimming pool in Noida.
The EDMC has decided to instal closed-circuit television cameras, or CCTV cameras, in all 280 schools operating under it. As per the proposal under consideration, 10 CCTV cameras will be set up in different locations in every school, and Rs 1 lakh will be spent on the installations.
According to a senior EDMC official, these CCTV cameras will not only ensure the safety of schoolchildren but also record the activities of those on the school premises. CCTVs will be monitored by officials from civic authorities. They will also monitor CCTVs to address issues related to qualitative delivery of primary education. A monitoring team will be constituted in every zone and the EDMC officials at the headquarters will supervise security from the control room, which will be set up there.
Speaking to City Spidey, Satya Sharma, EDMC mayor, said, “The main concern was to provide security to girls. Increasing number of rapes and incidents of molestation have forced the EDMC to take this step. Parents of girl students may feel more secure now.”
She added that ever since a 5-year-old died after falling into a septic tank in a municipal school in South Delhi recently, they had been considering the installation of CCTV cameras in schools. EDMC has made a budgetary provision of Rs 4 crore in the current financial year for the installation, and the education department of the Delhi government will fund it. Notably, the SDMC and NDMC have also proposed to implement the same plan.
