Kolkata Police starts building database on senior citizens

Kolkata: Kolkata Police has started its initiative to gather the details of senior citizens across the city and install CCTV cameras at their houses. On Wednesday, following the instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Kolkata met with all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and instructed them to prepare a database.

After the instruction was conveyed to the Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of all police stations under Kolkata Police, the work of gathering data was started on Thursday. In several divisions of Kolkata Police, OCs and other police officials went to the houses of senior citizens to gather information.

On Thursday morning, OCs and other officials of police stations under the jurisdiction of East Division visited the households where elderly couples stay. Some of them are existing members of Pronam, an initiative by Kolkata Police for the elderly citizens.

DC, East Division Rupesh Kumar himself visited some houses, along with the officials from local police stations. "Officers from all police stations in East Division are visiting Pronam members. At present we have 636 members under East Division. We are visiting existing Pronam members as well as new elderly families," said Kumar.

Apart from gathering information in order to create a database, several houses where elderly citizens live have been identified. On Thursday, OC of New Alipore police station Amit Sankar Mukherjee, along with other police officials also visited the houses of elderly citizens.

Sources have informed that so far, 102 elderly citizens' houses have been identified, who have been found to be vulnerable. At one house, a CCTV camera was installed and gradually, CCTV cameras will be installed in all 102 households.

At present, 294 elderly citizens who are the members of Pronam, live within the jurisdiction of New Alipore police station.

The Digital Video Recorder (DVR) of the CCTV camera will be installed at the local police stations, from where OCs and other officials will be able to monitor

the footage. For installation of CCTV cameras free of cost, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) needs to be given to police by the house owners.