The provincial capital was all set to become the first safe city of not only Pakistan but also South Asia.
According to the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA), the Lahore Safe City Project was launched here in May 2016 which was designed to ensure security and protection of people whereas intelligent traffic management system, anti-terrorism monitoring network, integrated emergency response, modern communication system and other features were introduced under the project for first time in the history of the country.
However, half of the Lahore city is now deprived of the services of the authority of the Punjab Safe City Projects. The problem has surfaced due to lack of financial resources required to handle the project as well as the case for obtaining control of PSCA amongst the Police and bureaucrats. According to official sources, 4000 cameras (50% of PSCA Cameras) are offline.
The previous provincial government had worked to establish PSCA as a multi-billion mega project under the Punjab safe cities Ordinance 2015 in order to utilise technology for uplift and standardistaion of quality of life in the metropolitan.
Moreover, over 4,000 cameras belonging to the Lahore Safe City project are no longer working after a dispute between the project administration and the Chinese company managing the cameras.
The dispute has arisen over Rs1 billion in dues not being paid. When the Chinese company didn’t receive the money, it shut down the cameras.
The project uses CCTV cameras across Lahore to monitor crime and traffic violations.
The Lahore Safe City Authority has decided to take action against the company. It says if something happens in the city and the cameras are off, the company will be responsible.
Prime Minister Imran Khan was also briefed about the progress during his recent visit to Lahore.
