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TERROR IMPACT: The Central Railway plans to replace the defunct cameras with new remote-operated pan, tilt, and zoom cameras by December 31. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE

During the Mumbai Terror attacks on CST, which left 58 dead, only 22 of 38 CCTV cameras installed at the station were working. To avoid being caught unawares again, Central Railway has decided to replace 29 rudimentary CCTV cameras with new state-of-the-art ones. 

J N Lal, Divisional Railway Manager, Central Railway, said, "Out of the 38 cameras installed in CST (all owned by railways) only nine cameras can Pan, Tilt and Zoom (PTZ), while others can only capture images of objects close to the camera. We are however planning to replace the non-PTZ cameras with new remote-operated (PTZ) cameras by December 31."

B S Sidhu, inspector general and chief security commissioner, Railway Protection Force (RPF), admitted that CCTVs at the mainline were indeed not functioning on November 26. "It is true that some of the CCTVs were not functional but CCTVs don't shoot terrorists, you need policemen manning the station to do that. Instead, they were seen running for their own safety."

A security expert said, "The RPF staff is transferred at short notice. They do not stay at a posting long enough to understand how the CCTVs function. Often, when RPF personnel complain that systems are not working, it is because the current operator does not know how the system works. When CCTV failures actually occur, they are often not reported."  

700 The number of CCTV cameras rented by CR

50 The number of such cameras owned by CR