LUCKNOW, Nov. 7 -- Dealing a blow to women's safety and urban surveillance in the state capital, over 1,000 AI-enabled Safe City cameras have gone offline again, this time for more than five days, leaving the entire monitoring network crippled. The outage occurred after the private service provider suspended operations due to unpaid dues of around Rs.8.43 crore pending with the Lucknow Smart City Limited (LSCL).

According to people familiar with the matter, these cameras have been offline from November 1 till date.

The breakdown has also affected around 150 city buses equipped with CCTV cameras and panic buttons, a crucial component designed to ensure women's security during transit. As a result, both street and transport surveillance s...