Meghalaya Tourism Minister T.D. Shira on Tuesday said the state government will hold a comprehensive review meeting in January with the Tourism Department to assess the need for installing CCTV cameras at select tourist destinations, underlining that the move will be need-based and guided by ground-level inputs rather than a blanket policy. Framing the issue around tourist safety and situational assessment, the Minister said tourism officers from all districts will be called to present detailed reports highlighting security concerns and other operational aspects at tourist hotspots, following which the government will take a considered decision on where surveillance infrastructure is genuinely required.
Clarifying that CCTV cameras will not be installed indiscriminately across all tourist locations, Shira said, “Not in all tourist place but whatever we feel it is necessary we will take take up contemporary to install CCTV.” He stressed that the government would not act on assumptions but would instead evaluate requirements location by location, adding, “In some areas, i cannot say blindly but we will work out how camera is needed in various areas, so it will be according to the need.”
Referring to past concerns, the Tourism Minister noted that there is no immediate plan in place at present, pointing out that no recurring incidents have been reported since last year. “We have not plan it, last year incident had taken place and after that no similar incidents had taken place, it may be exceptional but in some areas it will require for us to study to install CCTV for the safety of the tourist, not yet we have not installed CCTV camera,” he said.
Emphasising a consultative approach, Shira said the government would rely heavily on district-level assessments before moving forward. “We will have to call a meeting, discuss and then we have to call tourist officers from all districts and we will have to get the assessment and report from them and when they say it is necessary to install CCTV camera in some palaces, then we will initiates,” he said.
Indicating the timeline for the review, the Minister said the exercise is likely to be taken up in January due to the ongoing festive season and administrative closure. “I think in the month of January since now we are all festive mood and every body are in the mood to go home, government has also announced that from 19 all offices will be closed,” Shira added.
