Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Thursday said the government would transform Dhaka and Chattagram cities into crime free cities, reports BSS.
“The government has under taken a project to transform Dhaka and Chattagram into safe city in phases aimed at detecting all sort of crimes specially also the faces to make crime free cities,” he told reporters after a meeting at his conference room. The home ministry organised the meeting attended by State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Secretary of Security Division Mostafa Kamal Uddin and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Mohammad Javed Patwari.
The minister said the government would install around 14,000-16,000 cameras having high resolution in Dhaka city, which would also bring traffic system under control for paving smooth traffic for the city dwellers. “Initially, we will begin work in Dhaka North and South City Corporation and Chattagram City Corporation will come later under the safe city project. Once implemented the project then city’s crime would be reduced,” he said.
Kamal said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised in 2008 to make digital Bangladesh, to this end the government has been working to make digital country following Prime Minister’s ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy experience because Joy has vast knowledge about the ICT sector. “He said the government has also been working to make ‘999’ service more popular as some 1.42 crore people so far has dialed ‘999’ seeking assistance, adding, The ‘999’ service is getting popular among common people, specially assistance seekers.”
To make this service more effective and popular, a six-member committee has been constituted headed by Additional Secretary of Home Ministry Nurul Islam, the minister said. He said the government has also a plan to increase manpower to 500 for providing ‘999’ service smoothly, as it has 142 manpower, till now all assistance seekers had received services by dialing to ‘999’.”
Besides, the home ministry has also formed a one member committee to introduce digital general diary (GD) system in Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Mymensingh Metropolitan Police areas, Kamal said adding that the digital GD will work for lost and found sector initially. Apart from this, the ministry is considering for expanding ‘Swajan’ programme for inmates and relatives of prisoners, which was already introduced in Tangail jail and prisoners’ relatives are getting positive results from it.
Access to Information (a2i) Programme of Prime Minister’s Office provided technical assistance to run the project and from then, prisoners can talk to their relatives using phones from jail.
The Swajan programme improved communication between prisoners and their family members and reduce hassles. The minister said that the home ministry will be fully digitalized within 2021 when the country will celebrate ‘Mujib Year’, the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
