Don't dump, you'll be caught: Thiruvananthapuram Corporation

Thiruvananthapuram: Corporation plans to procure movable cameras, to deter dumping of waste in public places. “Procurement of mobile cameras has been included in this year’s project plan. Various residents’ associations have been using such cameras. Corporation’s technical officials are now studying different models,” said K. Sreekumar, chairperson, health standing committee. Corporation officials believe that mobile cameras will be able to curb the practice of littering public places better than fixed cameras.

“Stationary cameras stop people from throwing waste in the places where it is installed, whereas mobile cameras can be in places where people won’t even expect,” says an official. The mobile cameras will be infrared cameras, with battery backup for several days. The idea is to move the camera to a new area after two or three days. Now the engineering and health wings are chalking out specifications. The cost is estimated to be '20 lakh, with which the civic body hopes to procure at least one camera for every health circle.

It will take at least two months for the project to materialise, according to an official. There are not too many agencies which supply such cameras. “The idea was suggested a year ago. But when we approached Keltron they said they don’t know anyone who sells such cameras. We contacted agencies which provide camera traps in forests. But those could not record beyond ten minutes,” an official said. The point to be noted here is that the corporation has not been able to use the stationary cameras to penalise anyone. Those stand witness to rivers and roadsides dotted by carelessly flung garbage bags. The monitoring of most of these cameras is at the police control room. The rest are not working.