Hyderabad: A new city surveillance grid management protocol, designed to modernise and strengthen city’s CCTV ecosystem, was launched by director general of police B Shivadhar Reddy at the Telangana Integrated Command and Control Centre (TGICC) on Thursday.Alongside the protocol, the police unveiled the EYES (Empowering Your Everyday Safety) squad, a specialised multidisciplinary team equipped with advanced tools to maintain and troubleshoot the city’s expanding CCTV network.The launch comes at a time when city’s surveillance system has grown rapidly, with 1 lakh Nenu Saitam cameras, 16,000 police-owned street cameras and over 50,000 community and privately contributed CCTV systems feeding into the police network. This is in addition to body-worn cameras and the proposed induction of drone-based monitoring.“The EYES team will carry out field visits and undertake repairs across the city’s network of CCTV and other surveillance assets, ensuring that critical surveillance systems remain continuously operational,” the DGP said.The new framework follows a seven-step protocol that begins with setting up a technology due-diligence team and a camera support call centre. These will define minimum equipment standards, coordinate with corporate partners to develop solutions and serve as the first point of contact for complaints and reporting faulty systems.Once an issue is reported, the EYES team will step in, assisted by a data analytics unit, logistics team and dedicated repair centre. A CSR account managed by HCSC will also support public contributions for infrastructure upkeep and funding.Each zone will have two trained teams to handle urgent breakdowns, restore disrupted infrastructure and coordinate with civil contractors when required. A fleet of two-wheelers, four-wheelers and a mechanised aerial crane will support rapid response.“I encourage all citizens to voluntarily come forward and donate CCTV cameras,” Hyderabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar said, expressing confidence that the initiative will significantly enhance public safety.
