Thursday, September 1 2005 10:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Keeping in mind the suicide bomb attacks in the London underground railway that killed or maimed many, the Kolkata Metro Railway system is stepping up surveillance and installing new security gadgets.

"At least 60 new cameras will be installed at the entry and exit points of the stations to monitor movement of people entering or exiting the underground railway," Chief Security Commissioner of Kolkata Metro S G Samuel told sources in Kolkata.

"We have sufficient cameras inside the stations to watch the movement of people but monitoring at the entry and exits to the stations need to be strengthened," he said.

There are already 270 cameras installed on the platforms of the stations of the country's first underground railway to monitor the movement of passengers, Samuel said.

Pointing out that majority of metro passengers are office-goers and tourists, the Chief Security Commissioner said checking of each and every bag would hinder passengers.

He said that in case of doubt a passenger would be requested to open his or her bag for inspection.

"We are thinking of acquiring scanners for checking the bags of passengers without having to open them, but a final decision is yet to be taken on this aspect," Samuel said.

Samuel, however, asserted that there was no specific threat to the Metro and these were precautionary measures.

"We should not be caught unawares in case something happens," he said.

The threat aspect at the Metro was not as high as that of Delhi Metro, "But we would not like to take any chances in view of the attacks in the London underground system," he said.

The cameras on the platforms also double up to check for any one trying to commit suicide on the Metro tracks for the last few years, Metro tracks have become one of the most favourite spots for those trying to commit suicide.