HC wants police to install CCTV cameras in vulnerable areas within one year

Agencies
December 20, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 20: The Delhi Police on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the CCTV cameras it plans to install in vulnerable areas of the city will record hi-definition videos and will have facial recognition and number plate identification features. 

Taking note of the submission, the High Court directed the police to ensure that CCTV cameras are procured and installed in the 44 vulnerable areas within one year as against the time line of 18 months given by the law enforcement agency.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and A J Bhambani asked the Delhi Police to simultaneously carry out steps of floating tenders for procurement of cameras and getting necessary approvals from land owning agencies to install them, so that overall time required for the project is reduced.

"You (police) have to expedite the procurement process. We hope the entire process would be completed in a much shorter period, preferably one year," the court said.

The suggestion from the bench came after the police, represented by Delhi government standing counsel Rahul Mehra and additional standing counsel Rajesh Mahajan, told the court that it would take 18 months to install around 6,500 to 7,000 cameras in 44 vulnerable locations in the city.

They also told the court that these cameras would be of the latest technology having hi-definition video capture capability with facial recognition and number plate identification features and would cost around Rs 404 crore.

By comparison, the 1.4 lakh closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras that the Delhi government proposes to install across the national capital would cost Rs 550 crore as they would not be of such high specifications, Mehra told the court.

He also said that the cameras to be installed in vulnerable areas would not have audio recording facility and all video data recorded would be wirelessly sent to a centralised location and stored there.

The bench, thereafter, asked the Delhi Police to file a status report by the next date of hearing indicating progress in installing CCTV cameras in vulnerable areas and police stations in the city.

The Delhi government was asked to file a status report on the issue of lighting up the dark and vulnerable areas of the national capital and listed the matter for further hearing on February 15.

The court was hearing a PIL initiated by it in 2012 after the horrific December 16, 2012 gang rape of a young woman in a moving bus. The woman later succumbed to the injuries.

Apart from that, the court was also hearing a plea by social activist Ajay Gautam alleging that there have been several deaths inside police stations in the city this year and the presence of functional CCTVs could act as a deterrent.

In both the matters, the court has been from time to time issuing directions with regard to increasing the number of police officers in the city, installation of CCTV cameras in police stations as well as vulnerable or crime prone areas, reducing delay in testing of samples in FSLs and ensuring speedy disbursal of compensation to victims of sexual assault.

Last week it had directed the Delhi government and the police to abide by the respective timelines given by them for filling up vacant posts in FSLs and installing CCTV cameras in police stations.

On the last date, police had told the court that cameras have been installed and are functional in 91 of its stations.

In 54 police stations, CCTVs would be installed by December 15 while in the remaining 57 police stations and 53 police posts, the work would be completed by January 15, the court was told.

The bench, thereafter, had asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to ensure the timeline indicated is adhered to.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Crisis-hit Yes Bank on Tuesday said that it has enabled inward IMPS and NEFT services.

The move allows people to send money from other bank accounts to their Yes Bank account through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) mode.

In a tweet, the bank also said that Yes Bank customers can pay their credit card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts.

"Inward IMPS/NEFT services have now been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts. Thank you for your co-operation. @RBIA @FinMinIndia," said tweet.

Last week Yes Bank was placed under moratorium and a withdrawal cap of Rs 50,000 was imposed till April 3.

The administrator of Yes Bank, Prashant Kumar and Rajnish Kumar, the Chairman of the State Bank of India are hopeful that moratorium would be lifted within a week.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) draft reconstruction scheme for the crisis-hit private lender, the SBI will take up 49 per cent in the bank by investing Rs 2,450 crore.

The new board of directors will stand constituted from the appointed date. It will comprise a CEO and MD, non-executive chairman and non-executive directors. The SBI will have nominee directors appointed on the board of the reconstructed bank.

The RBI may appoint additional directors to the board, who shall continue in office for one year, or until an alternate board is constituted by Yes Bank.

The SBI will not reduce its holding below 26 per cent before completion of three years from the date of infusion of the capital.

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Agencies
February 25,2020

Tokyo, Feb 25: Japan's Chitetsu Watanabe, recognized at 112 years as the oldest man in the world, has passed away 11 days after he received the Guinness World Record certificate, his family said on Tuesday.

Watanabe died on Sunday night, Efe news reported.

He received the official certificate on February 12 at a nursing home in Joetsu in Niigata prefecture, where he resided.

Soon after being certified as the oldest man, he began to experience a lack of appetite and respiratory problems, the wife of his eldest son told public broadcaster NHK.

Born on March 5, 1907 in a family of farmers, Watanabe moved at the age of 20 to Taiwan, where he worked at a sugar refinery for 18 years before returning to Japan after the end of World War II.

A fan of calligraphy, custard and ice cream, Watanabe told the Guinness team that the key to his long life was laughter.

He was recognized as the oldest male in the world following the deaths in 2019 of German Gustav Gerneth (in October), aged 114 years, and Japan's Masazo Nonaka (in January), at the age of 113, three months older than the German.

It remains to be seen who will be recognized after the death of Watanabe, the only male on the list drawn up by the Gerontology Research Group of the 30 oldest people in the world.

Japan has among the highest life expectancy in the world and the number of centenarians in the country has crossed 71,000, according to the latest government figures.

Since 2000, the number of centenarians censored has quintupled, raising concern for the economic outlook and future workforce of the country - where the birthrate is on a downward trend.

Out of these, 88 per cent are women.

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Agencies
May 10,2020

In the wake of the gas leak at a factory in Visakhapatnam, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued detailed guidelines for restarting industries after the lockdown and the precautions to be taken for the safety of the plants as well as the workers.

In a communication to all states and union territories, the NDMA said due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed the established standard operating procedures.

As a result, some of the manufacturing facilities, pipelines, valves may have residual chemicals, which may pose risk. The same is true for the storage facilities with hazardous chemicals and flammable materials, it said.

The NDMA guidelines said while restarting a unit, the first week should be considered as the trial or test run period after ensuring all safety protocols.

Companies should not try to achieve high production targets. There should be 24-hour sanitisation of the factory premises, it said.

The factories need to maintain a sanitisation routine every two-three hours especially in the common areas that include lunch rooms and common tables which will have to be wiped clean with disinfectants after every single use, it added.

For accommodation, the NDMA said, sanitisation needs to be performed regularly to ensure worker safety and reduce the spread of contamination.

To minimise the risk, it is important that employees who work on specific equipment are sensitised and made aware of the need to identify abnormalities like strange sounds or smell, exposed wires, vibrations, leaks, smoke, abnormal wobbling, irregular grinding or other potentially hazardous signs which indicate the need for immediate maintenance or if required shutdown, it said.

At least 11 people lost their lives and about 1,000 others were exposed to a gas leak at a factory in Andhra Pradesh''s Visakhapatnam on May 7.

The incident took place after it restarted operations when the government allowed industrial activities in certain sectors following several weeks of lockdown.

The lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 for 21 days in a bid to combat the coronavirus threat. The lockdown was then extended till May 3 and again till May 17.

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