Noida Sector 18 traders demand control room to monitor CCTVs

NOIDA: In the aftermath of the Sector 12 jewellery showroom robbery, traders of Sector 18 market have offered to install 60 CCTV cameras in the area and demanded space to set up a control room for monitoring the cams for continuous surveillance.
Sushil Kumar Jain, president of Sector 18 market association, said they had provided some 65 CCTV cameras around three years back but most of them were dysfunctional as the wires have either been stolen or cut and due to lack of maintenance.
“For continuous monitoring, it is best that one of our operators too sits in the control room. We will also get five gunmen for the market. Since it might not be possible at the police chowki, we will ask the Noida Authority for a dedicated space for setting up the control room,” he said.
The traders have also demanded arms licenses for some of them, citing threat to their lives. Other demands included removal of encroachments within 150 metres of the entry/exit points of the market, reduction in parking rates, a free pass for businessmen and their staff in the sector and shifting of beer and wine shops located in Sector 18 F Block.
When contacted, police commissioner Alok Singh told TOI that he had spoken to the Noida Authority CEO about the parking problem, including the rates. On arms licenses, he said that applications can be put in process for those traders who have threat perception.
DCP (Noida) Sankalp Sharma said that for the time being, they have suggested to the traders to set up a control room in the police chowki as deployment of a dedicated cop for continuous monitoring at another location would be difficult. “If the traders manage to get another location for control room, then we will see.”