LUCKNOW, Jan. 25 -- An outage triggered after the electricity department disconnected the power supply to the Safe City command centre, reportedly over pending payments, on Friday evening once again knocked Lucknow's Safe City surveillance system offline, officials said. As a result, the command centre meant to operate round the clock remained shut, with monitoring screens switched off and no staff on duty. The disruption has affected nearly 1,000 AI-enabled Safe City cameras installed at prominent locations across the state capital for women's safety. With the system offline, officials fear delayed emergency response and a possible spike in street crime. The Safe City cameras had helped police crack more than 1,700 crime-related cases in the past year, including chain-snatching, hit-and-run incidents and crimes against women. During a Hindustan Times visit to the Safe City command centre around 7:55 pm on Saturday, the facility was found shut, with all monitoring screens switched off and no personnel present. The cameras were strategically installed at over 200 locations, including Balu Adda, Lalbagh, Shankar Crossing, Naza Road, Shaheed Path, Mohanlalganj and Nagram, to cover sensitive and high-footfall areas. Each camera is AI-enabled and connected to a central database designed to alert police in real-time during suspicious movements. With the surveillance network down, e-challan generation has also stopped, impacting traffic enforcement and law-and-order monitoring across the state capital. Officials admitted that the problem is recurring. "The cameras remain offline for several days. After the issue is highlighted, services are restored temporarily, but the same situation returns within days," an official aware of the development said. Hindustan Times has repeatedly reported Safe City system outages between August and November 2025, largely due to payment-related disputes. Each time, services were restored only after verbal assurances were given to the private vendor, without a permanent settlement of dues. According to officials, the current disruption followed the suspension of services by the private operator after unpaid dues crossed Rs.8.43 crore, an amount that has reportedly increased further against Lucknow Smart City Limited (LSCL). Some officials said parts of the surveillance system have remained intermittently non-functional since November 1, raising concerns over loss of critical surveillance data. When contacted, municipal commissioner and chief executive officer of the Lucknow Smart City Project, Gaurav Kumar, did not respond to calls. However divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant on Saturday said efforts were once again being made to resolve the issue and address the funding-related problems. The impact of the shutdown has gone beyond roadside surveillance. Around 150 city buses equipped with CCTV cameras and panic buttons, a critical component of women's safety in public transport, have also become non-functional, officials confirmed....