24 August,2011 12:34 PM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
500 CCTVs sold to city mandals as Mumbai terror attack makes festival organisers security-conscious
Aboutu00a0500 Ganapati mandals of the total 4,000 in and around the city have become security conscious and have purchased CCTV sets. The price of the CCTV sets ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 35,000, and many mandals are looking for sponsors or have opted for payment in monthly instalments to obtain the security system.
Security first: CCTV dealers Yogesh Malpure and Rahul Bagrecha
explain the working of the security device
After the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the German Bakery blast in the city last year, security is the prime concern for Ganapati mandals. The police have already told mandals they must install CCTVs at their pandals during the upcoming Ganeshotsav. The city has three major CCTV distributors, namely Zicom, Aditya Infotech and Lookman Security, and 20 dealers who sell these sets. Also, there are over 100 electrical shops in the city that sell CCTVs, though many of them may not be up-to-date with the technical knowhow.
Technician shortage
Though CCTV sets are freely available in the market, technicians who provide the after-sales service are in short supply, and this has hampered business. "It is true that about 500 sets are being sold in the city before the Ganapati Utsav, but there is a grave dearth of technicians in Pune. Many Ganapati mandals shows reluctance because they are not assured of technical service after the purchase," said Sanjyot Phadake, Regional Manager, Zicom.
According to Phadke, CCTVs are becoming more hi-tech and the latest version of Internet Protocal Remote Viewing (IPRV) has already become popular. "One can access the system by using his mobile phone to view the place from any part of the world at any time. But we still don't have enough manpower to provide proper technical support for these mandals," he said.
Rahul Bagrecha, partner, Hem Electronics Securities said the sale of CCTV sets may get a boost if mandals can get sponsors for these.u00a0 Yogesh Malpure, a dealer, was of the opinion that the cost of these CCTV sets may go down as the demand increases. "We are getting these sets from China, Taiwan and Korea," he said.
Mayor's fund
Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal has declared he is keeping aside the amount of Rs 10 lakh from his mayor's fund only for the purchase of CCTV sets for the small Ganapati mandal. "No money has been spent for the purpose even as the festival is just eight days away," said Amar Hireshikhar, president, Sainath Mandal Trust, which has installed CCTV sets.
