Safety equipment not so safe: Karachi Safe City’s cameras go missing

KARACHI: In a major security lapse near Bilawal House Chowrangi, valuable equipment installed for Karachi’s Safe City Project has been stolen, officials confirmed on Thursday.

According to Director General Safe City Authority Asif Ijaz Sheikh, distribution boxes (DB boxes) connected to surveillance cameras were stolen from the area, forcing authorities to shut down the cameras that were linked to them. The boxes reportedly contained equipment worth millions of rupees.

“The Safe City cameras had to be switched off after the distribution box was stolen. The cameras were removed from the poles for safekeeping,” Sheikh stated.

He added that no alarm was triggered during the theft, which itself is a lapse that is now under investigation. “We are also inquiring why the system’s alert mechanism did not activate when the DB boxes were taken,” he said.

The District Police have been asked to enhance protection of all Safe City Project installations across Karachi to prevent further incidents. Sheikh also confirmed that a meeting was held with the Zonal DIGs to discuss preventive measures and tighten security around the surveillance network.

Authorities have termed the theft a “matter of serious concern”, especially given the project’s significance in maintaining urban security and crime monitoring in Karachi.