PHUKET - Authorities will install more closed-circuit television cameras along Patong beach to boost security following two recent bomb blasts in this popular tourist attraction.
Chalermluck Kepsap, mayor of Patong municipality, said on Saturday that only 50 CCTVs had been installed at the 16.4-square-kilometre Patong municipal area. Most existing municipality-installed surveillance cameras were outdated, she noted.
However, there are other CCTVS installed by other government agencies, hotels and shops in the area.
Phuket provincial authorities recently held a meeting with representatives from the public and private sectors to discuss safety measures in their areas. Operators of hotels and shops were asked to turn the direction of their CCTVS toward roads and they cooperated well, said Ms Chalermluck.
Following bomb blasts in Patong, municipality executives sought a budget from the municipality council to purchase 30 more CCTVs, which would be mainly installed along the Patong beach, said the mayor. If the budget is approved, the security cameras would be immediately installed, she added.
On top of this, Patong municipality, which was chosen as an area under the innovation-driven Smart City project, has been allocated budgets for the purchase of another 30 smart CCTVs, said Ms Chalermluck. These surveillance cameras would be installed on main roads in Bang La and other areas in Patong in the next few days, she added.
On Aug 12, a bomb exploded at a police booth at the end of Walking Street Road in Thawiwong Road in Patong. A motorcycle taxi driver was slightly injured. A second device exploded at Loma Beach on the same road, but caused no injuries. The two bombs were set off by timers, police said.