Faulty CCTVs make Bandra-Worli Sealink ripe for suicides

Mumbai: After several suicide bids there, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited’s (MSRDC) Bandra-Worli Sealink seems to be increasingly acquiring a profile that it may not be comfortable with — that of a suicide point. The 5.6-km stretch has come under the authorities’ scanner due to allegations that a majority of the 80 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed there do not work.

The sealink, which was opened to traffic in 2009, has seen more than 12 suicide bids from 2009 till date. Of a total of 80 surveillance cameras installed there, sources from the police department said, only six CCTV cameras are working and the image quality is grainy.

When contacted, Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe told The Asian Age, “Yes, there is a problem. The CCTV cameras at the Bandra-Worli Sealink are not working for over a month. The sealink is under the MSRDC, so they must tackle the issue. A few cameras that are there under our jurisdiction are working fine and we are using them for monitoring and surveillance.”

But MSRDC’s chief engineer, toll monitoring department, Dilip Salunkhe, said, “The lacunae is on the part of the police department, not us.” When asked about the cameras not working, Mr Salunkhe said, “There might be a technical snag, which we need to check, and if it is a problem from our side, it will soon be rectified.”

MSRDC officials admitted that there have been frequent technical problems with the cameras. They also blamed the police for delaying the approval of the technical specifications to be given to a privately-run company, with whom orders for scanners have already been placed. There are a total of 80 cameras, 65 of which are on the top part of the structure. Serious questions were raised after more than a dozen suicide bids were reported from the sealink since the time it was thrown open to the public in 2009.

On 22 September 2013, the body of a woman was found in Bandra, near the sealink. The body was found inside a gunny bag, with only the woman’s torso in it. Given the circumstances, her identification will prove to be difficult. A case of murder has been registered with the Bandra police but till now, no CCTV footage is available with the police to trace the accused.