Maharashtra civic body starts control room to improve safety in schools

NEW DELHI: The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in Maharashtra's Thane district has launched a new 'Central School Control Room' to bolster the safety of students by monitoring CCTV footage across the civic schools, officials said. The move comes after two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted allegedly by a male attendant in the washroom of a school in Badlapur area of the district last month.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on September 5 inaugurated the MBMC's 'Central School Control Room' via video conferencing. The facility, located at the Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Auditorium in Mira Bhayander area, is designed to monitor CCTV footage across municipal schools to enhance student safety, a civic release said on Saturday.

Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Katkar said the control room, which can monitor nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras, is equipped with advanced technology and a UPS generator backup. It will oversee footage from 200 cameras installed in 36 municipal schools with approximately 10,000 students. The control room promises to address security concerns proactively and provide a secure learning environment for students, parents and school staff.

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Initially focusing on municipal schools, the initiative plans to include private institutions in the future, the release said. In his address, CM Shinde stressed on the significance of ensuring a secure environment for students, particularly emphasising the need for real-time CCTV surveillance to deter wrongful activities. He urged other municipal corporations to adopt the MBMC's model to enhance educational safety standards across Maharashtra.

The chief minister also highlighted the state's commitment to student safety through stricter regulations and the 'Shakti' law, aimed at strengthening measures against crimes targeting women and children, the release said. He encouraged schools to conduct thorough background checks of the staff and install complaint boxes to facilitate reporting of grievances, it added.