<![CDATA[A new bright red-coloured police booth at Tiruveedhiamman Kovil Street in Mandaveli which was erected by the residents and was inaugurated on September 30. The booth is compact so the benefit is considerable to evade the inconvenience caused by it on the spot of erection. The residents have initally installed six CCTV cameras on this street, which comes under the E-4 Abhiramapuram police jurisdiction. Together, these six CCTV cameras will help monitor both ends of the street. Inaugurating the booth, Saravana Kumar, Mylapore DCP (law and order), said, “This is a great initiative by residents. It provides us a chance to work hand in hand with them to keep the neighborhood safe.” He suggested that a pole be placed at the end of the street to mount a CCTV camera on it. Members of various residents’ welfare associations including Jeth Nagar, Sivaraman Street and R.A. Puram attended the event. Mr. Bala, secretary of TAKSRA maintained that “Due to safety concerns, we don’t want to keep the main CCTV unit inside the booth. We will however share the access code of these cameras with the police if they need any footage. We wanted a booth as a symbol of round-the-clock surveillance,". A register will be maintained at the police booth to record details of the beat officer and the time he/she visited, said Mr. Sudarshan, ACP (law and order), J4 Kotturpuram police station. “As there is manpower shortage, it is not possible to man the police booth at all times. We will be giving phone numbers of our team, so that residents can contact us in case of an emergency,” he added. The beat police are divided into three groups — A, B and C. “The team comprising Group A is in charge of the Jeth Nagar section, Group B watches over Mandaveli and Tiruveedhiamman Kovil Street and Group C, Greenways Road. The constables will take turns to keep watch at the booth,” said Vetriselvan C., inspector (crime), E-4 Abhiramapuram police station.]]>