Jadavpur University Starts Installing CCTV Cameras At Main Gates

After prolonged controversy, CCTV cameras are finally being installed at Kolkata's Jadavpur University. 

The decision to install CCTV cameras at the University was taken after the death of a first-year student in August. The student allegedly died after being subjected to ragging at the hostel.

The CCTV cameras will be installed at the gates including the five gates of Jadavpur University's main campus, the student hostel and the Salt Lake campus, a project official said. 

"We have started the process of installing CCTV cameras today. We will try to finish the installation work in 15 days. 29 cameras will be installed at the main gate here, at Salt Lake campus and hostel," the project head from Webel Technology Limited, Subhankar Pal said on Saturday.

Three types of cameras are being installed- ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) cameras, high-end bullet cameras and dome cameras, the project head said adding that the dome camera will be placed indoors and the ANPR camera will be installed at the gates to capture vehicle number plates.

Among the 29 cameras, six are ANPRs, 20 are bullet cameras for recording footage of visitors and three are dome cameras which will be installed in the server room and will be used for protection for overlooking any manipulating activity, the project officials said.

Speaking about the project, one of the members of the project, Mithun Mukherjee said, "The CCTV cameras will be installed at the five gates of Jadavpur University main campus, the student hostel and the Salt Lake campus. All of them will be at the gates."

On the server room, Mr Mukherjee said, "The server room will be at three places. It will be centrally located at the main campus."

Kolkata's Jadavpur University hit the headlines last month after a first-year student, Swarnodip Kundu, died on Thursday after allegedly falling from the balcony of the university's hostel.

Kundu was a first-year student of the Bengali Department, and belonged to the state's Nadia district.

Following the incident, student leaders from Jadavpur University had claimed that installing CCTV cameras on campus is not a one-stop solution to prevent incidents of ragging.

"CCTVs can only help in detecting who is the culprit. But CCTVs cannot help in stopping ragging," Subhodeep Bandyopadhyay, General Secretary of Kolkata SFI said.

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