Digital geo-mapping now south zone’s new go-to policing tool

MADURAI: What began as a security tool for the Immanuel Sekaran guru pooja could evolve into a new policing system for handling sensitive events across southern Tamil Nadu, with the South Zone police introducing real-time geo-mapping for the first time this year.

Speaking to DT Next, Vijayendra Bidari, Inspector General of Police, South Zone, Madurai, said, “The web-based platform brings together the details of sensitive routes and locations, police databases, leader statues and previous unrests, giving police officers a complete picture while planning security.”

The system covered 938 sensitive locations in Ramanathapuram district alone, with live camera feeds from the field integrated into the monitoring platform.

Organising security for the annual Immanuel Sekaran guru pooja on September 11 and Thevar Jayanthi, marking the birth anniversary of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam on October 30, has remained an uphill task for police and revenue officials. Thousands of people from southern districts converge for the two events in Paramakudi and Pasumpon, respectively. Politicians and party functionaries also participate.

The security challenge is compounded by the history of caste-related tensions and incidents of violence associated with the events in the previous years. Against this backdrop, the new geo- mapping system brings together information on sensitive routes, locations, and previous incidents to aid security planning.

“Real-time updates from checkpoints enabled the police to coordinate the arrivals and departures of various groups sequentially without overlaps,” said Bidari

The application was accessed by the police’s technical team and senior officers through computers installed in police vehicles deployed in the field, enabling them to monitor sensitive locations and receive live inputs while moving between different points, the IG said.

The real-time monitoring enabled 11,000 police personnel to respond swiftly to developments in the field, said a senior police officer.

Moreover, with a click of a button on a sensitive location marked on the virtual map, police officials could access the history of previous untoward incidents reported in the area and enforce security arrangements more effectively.

Geo-mapping also helped ease traffic movement. “With the help of live feeds, we ensured that vehicles did not clog any road or junction leading to the venue,” said Bidari.

The Police Technical Wing developed the software and implemented it for the first time during the Immanuel Sekaran Guru Pooja this year. TS Anbu, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), who oversaw the security arrangements for the event, also witnessed the functioning of the geo-mapping system.