Bengaluru, 27 Jan

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), responsible for public transportation in India's tech capital, finds itself in a bind. Around 20% (1,500 buses) of the BMTC fleet of 6,500 buses do not have CCTV cameras installed in them, raising concerns about passenger security and deterring some, especially women, from using public transport. 

Adding to the security concern, a significant portion of the CCTV-enabled 5,000 buses do not have cameras in working condition. 

Sunitha Jain, Public Relations Officer of BMTC told Salar News, that funding is a major concern for the lack of CCTV coverage in all the buses. “The funding given to us has fallen short and BMTC’s resources are stretched thin. The technical glitches and maintenance issues also render some existing cameras inoperable. Furthermore, a lack of proper monitoring weakens the effectiveness of even functional cameras,” Jain said. 

This uneven distribution leaves many passengers vulnerable. The lack of visual surveillance emboldens potential harassers and creates an environment of anxiety for many passengers. This not only impacts individual well-being but also discourages ridership, hindering the City's public transport goals.

Many women find it hard to travel without any safety measures, especially during the night. Sheela Williams, a homemaker, told Salar News: “Sometimes the bus will be filled with so much crowd that I won’t even know who is touching whom. At the same time if the bus does not have a CCTV camera, then it is even more inconvenient for me to travel.”

Offering free travel alone will not be sufficient for women, said Lakshmi S, a therapist working at a healing centre in City. “It's not only about the physical harassment that we have to be worried about, it is even the non-physical things that we have to be worried about. Sometimes men stare at me as though they have never seen a girl in their life,” she said.

The lack of CCTV cameras makes travelling a nightmare at night, said Moni A, a regular commuter with BMTC. “The problem is not just about petty crimes like theft and robbery. It is about our safety as well. We travel during the night as well, and with the lack of proper cameras we cannot even take the risk of travelling at that hour alone.” —Salar News