CCTV cameras in iconic Coffee House irk regular patrons

Installation of CCTV cameras in the 140-year-old Albert Hall, also known as Coffee House, has evoked mixed response from people.

16 CCTV cameras have been installed for security reasons by the authorities. Regular visitors on Monday demanded the removal of the CCTV cameras.

The Coffee House, frequented by students and intellectuals alike, have criticised the move. Samir Mukherjee, a regular visiter to Coffee House and editor of a magazine said: “In the name 

of security, restrictions are being imposed restrictions on the guests coming to the 

Coffee House for years. 

It’s a gathering of open-minded people and installation of CCTV cameras should be condemned,”

Krishna Chatterjee, a student of Presidency University said: “It is a clear intrusion on the privacy of the guests and flouts Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.”

Built in 1876, Coffee House was a forum for having debates and discussion on key issues for over a century. Sister Nivedita had delivered a lecture in 1898, which attracted the attention of Bengali intelligentsia. During the Naxal movement, Asim Chatterjee and Dipanjan Roy Chowdhury were regular visitors to Coffee House.

There are people who have been visiting Coffee House once or twice a week for the past three or four decades.