PESHAWAR: The government’s priorities to improve the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can be gauged from the fact that no practical work has been done even years after the announcement of the Safe City Project for Peshawar and Kurram district.
The Safe City was planned for Peshawar in 2009 and announced for Parachinar in Kurram district in 2017. “No practical work has been done in Peshawar in the last 15 years, while the same is the case with Kurram,” an official told The News when asked about the progress made in the projects so far, even though millions are spent on them every year.
He added that a proper unit had been set up in the KP Police under a deputy inspector general and his team to ensure speedy practical work on the Safe City Projects.“Millions of rupees are being spent on the theoretical office work every month but no practical work has been done so far,” said the official.
The Safe City Projects were proposed around 15 years back for three major cities, Peshawar, Lahore and Islamabad. The projects were completed in Islamabad and Lahore many years back but nothing has been done in Peshawar. Many other districts of Punjab also got the facility in the last many years.
Many suggested that since the actual project is to cost billions of rupees, a relatively small project to install a few hundred closed-circuit television cameras can help secure the KP provincial capital from terrorist and criminal attacks to a great extent.
The CCTV cameras are needed at all the key points of Peshawar and other major towns of the province amid the recent wave of terrorist attacks as well as an alarming increase in street crimes.
some officials suggested that the installation of a few hundred CCTV cameras at all the entry and exit points to Peshawar and other districts, public places, main trade centers, offices, townships, offices and any important place in urban and rural areas can help protect the lives and properties of millions of people from terrorists and criminals.
“Technology is the key and the same is the slogan of the incumbent police administration. Instead of other less important projects, KP government and police need to focus on installing CCTVs,” said an official.
Several high-profile cases have been worked out recently with the help of technology, especially CCTV cameras cellular phone data.Extortionists, killers, robbers, snatchers and many others involved in different kinds of crimes and terrorism incidents were held mostly through CCTV footage and cell phones in the last few years.
“Not only do the CCTV cameras help identify the culprits after any crime but also help monitor an area to keep a check on any suspicious movement to thwart any criminal or terrorist bid. Besides, it improves the dealing of cops and personnel of other forces with the public at the checking points,” said the official.
He added that in case the government lacks funds for the mega Safe City Project, instant and solid measures should be taken by the authorities and police to install a few hundred CCTVs at the much-needed places in Peshawar that will cost hardly a few percent of the amount required for the proposed project. The same can be done in other districts where the law and order situation needs to be improved.
There were reports that a huge amount was allocated in the annual budget for the Safe City Project a few years back. The scheme has become a white elephant that cost millions of rupees from the exchequer every year since 2009.Under the actual Safe City project, initially over 6000 CCTV cameras were proposed to be installed at over 850 points across the provincial capital.
These would be monitored by the senior officers live as well as from a central command system for keeping a check on law and order and to improve the treatment of the cops with the public.
Innumerable meetings have been held and millions have been spent on the theoretical work every month for the last 15 years. However, no practical work was done on a project that was much needed in the city that always became the prime target of terrorists. The situation deteriorating for the last many months now need the project again.
In recent years, the authorities planned to launch Phase-1 of the Safe City Project from Hayatabad but that too proved to be a mere slogan.“The Safe City Project for the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is an example of how the government and its departments are dealing with some of the important projects for the security and welfare of the public,” said an official.
Most of these departments are more interested in gaining powers and control of any project rather than providing security and relief to the public, for which the officials of these departments were recruited and given millions of rupees as salaries.
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