Alarm buttons in smart poles not used as people are unaware of the feature

Fifty smart poles installed by the Greater Chennai Corporation in 2021, with fish-eye cameras, panic buttons, air pollution and flood sensors and wi-fi connectivity have been placed in specific locations and provide inputs in the form of data to various departments

Fifty smart poles installed by the Greater Chennai Corporation in 2021, with fish-eye cameras, panic buttons, air pollution and flood sensors and wi-fi connectivity have been placed in specific locations and provide inputs in the form of data to various departments. 

The smart poles are part of a ₹150-crore project of the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Ripon Buildings. Various state-of-the-art technologies and installations such as flood sensors and air quality index sensors are a part of this.

“The pole collects relevant data which we can analyse and react to,” said an official of Chennai Smart City Ltd. The official added that during floods, action can be taken based on the information collected and transmitted to the ICCC. 

The smart poles are fitted with alarm buttons that those in distress can use to contact the police. However, many women are unaware of this facility as it is not prominently displayed. Even a senior Corporation official admitted that the panic button had not been used many times since 2021 and some calls turned out to be prank calls. “In case the call is genuine, it is forwarded to the nearest police stations with the exact location,” said the official.

The other features of the smart pole such as the camera, wi-fi and speakers are more popular. “During COVID-19, the cameras were used to detect crowd and the locations of vaccination camps were announced through speakers,” said a Corporation official. In case of any crime or suspicious incident, the camera feed is shared with the police.

There is a dedicated team of 25 people and each one of the team member is assigned a specific task from monitoring the feed for passive surveillance, flooding to solid waste management in the purview of the smart pole. Eighteen out of the 50 poles have been fitted with environment sensors.