Hidden' camera keeps tab on one and all

Visakhapatnam: Wildlife activists were worried when a camouflaged communication system was set up on artificial palm trees at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park premises, triggering doubts about how the radiation would affect the animals. But it has enabled the zoo authorities to ensure 24x7 CCTV surveillance of the entire 625-acre premises of the zoo. The high-end communication equipment has been fixed on artificial palm trees in place of conventional ground-based stations to provide video surveillance, WiFi services to visitors and zoo administration and kiosks to enable animal lovers to watch the goings-on on a small digital screen and special apps.

The Reliance company is spending Rs 1.5 crore as part of its CSR activity. Zoo curator B. Vijaya Kumar said, “We needed a 24x7 surveillance system to keep an eye on visitors entering the enclosures, monitor the health of the animals and the entire zoo premises and to ensure the safety of visitors. The Central Zoo Authority has approved the project, keeping in view many that have taken place in India and abroad."  

He was sure that the towers would not have any negative impact on birds and animals as the distance between the artificial towers, built in the shape of palm trees, and the enclosures was at least 300 m less than what the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) of the Department of Telecommunications had stipulated. “The limit followed by our government is one-tenth of the limits specified by the International Commission for Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection,” he said, adding that it was the first of its kind in artificial communication systems to be installed by any zoo.