The Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) in Maharashtra’s Thane district has introduced a new ‘Central School Control Room’ to enhance student safety by monitoring CCTV footage across municipal schools. The initiative follows a recent incident in which two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted by a male attendant in a school in Badlapur.
The Central School Control Room was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on September 5, 2024, via video conferencing. The control room is situated at the Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Auditorium in Mira Bhayander and will monitor nearly 1,000 CCTV cameras, with an initial focus on overseeing 200 cameras installed across 36 municipal schools serving approximately 10,000 students.
Equipped with advanced technology and a UPS generator backup, the control room aims to proactively address security concerns and ensure a safe environment for students, teachers, and parents. The initiative, which currently focuses on municipal schools, may eventually extend to private institutions.
In his address, CM Shinde highlighted the importance of real-time CCTV surveillance in deterring wrongful activities, urging other municipal corporations to adopt similar safety measures. He also emphasized the government’s dedication to student safety through stricter regulations and the ‘Shakti’ law, designed to combat crimes against women and children.
The chief minister further encouraged schools to conduct thorough background checks on staff members and install complaint boxes to facilitate grievance reporting. This initiative is a step towards making schools a safer and more secure place for students across Maharashtra.
