Safety: The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) will install 118 CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras in Thimphu city by September next year.

In the first phase of the project, about 20 CCTV cameras will be installed in the core city areas. The remaining CCTV cameras will be installed in the second phase, which stats from July this year.

RBP’s Safe City Solution project worth Nu 149.7 million began with the installation of two CCTV cameras in front of the city police station in Thimphu on May 10.

Chief of Police Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel said that the CCTV project would act as a major deterrence for crime and would lead to its reduction. “The CCTV cameras will also help investigate and detect crimes through video recorded evidence.”

Thimphu alone contributes to more than 60 percent of the total crime in the country.

Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel said that the CCTV cameras would enable traffic personnel to manage, regulate traffic and respond to traffic related problems effectively.

“The substantial rise in the vehicles has led to increase in traffic violations in the city,” Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel added.

Of the 715 motor vehicle accidents in the country last year, 539 accident cases were reported in Thimphu.

The project is expected to regulate systematic traffic management, improve the efficiency of the police to respond to crime and natural disasters at the quickest possible time, provide a sense of safety and security to the people living in the community, among others.

A police official said that the installation of the CCTV will reduce physical deployment of police personnel especially traffic police on various locations in the city.

Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel said that the project would enable the government to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of His Majesty The King in making Bhutan a safe, clean and beautiful place to live in. The project will also enhance the capacity of the RBP to keep peace and security in the community and promote Bhutan as one of the safest place to live and work in the region, he said.

The work to install CCTV cameras in the city is being carried out by Bhutan Telecom.

Dechen Tshomo

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