Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai
Mumbai, Jul 23: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to outsource surveillance and security services at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla, more than 18 months after the city's oldest museum reopened following a two-year restoration project.
The move is aimed at strengthening security through round-the-clock monitoring of exhibits, regular patrols, crowd management and surveillance, although no security incidents have been reported so far.
The museum, which was opened to the public in 1857, is currently protected by the BMC's in-house security personnel, including staff deployed at the adjoining Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo.
Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the zoo, said visitor numbers have increased significantly since the museum reopened, prompting the civic body to streamline its security arrangements.
"After the reopening of the museum, we have seen a high footfall. At present, we internally manage the security. The security is there. But we want to streamline it, and we will hire a new agency," he said.
According to the BMC, the selected agency will deploy trained personnel for 24-hour surveillance of the museum building, galleries, entry and exit points, and other designated areas.
The agency will also be responsible for visitor guidance, crowd and queue management during regular operations as well as special events.
Its duties will include preventing unauthorised access, theft, trespassing and damage to museum property, exhibits and other assets, besides conducting regular patrols and reporting suspicious activities or security breaches to museum authorities.
The outsourced staff will also monitor CCTV cameras, access control systems, alarm systems and other surveillance equipment.
In addition, they will assist in fire safety measures, emergency response, evacuation procedures and disaster management in coordination with the museum administration, while maintaining occurrence registers, visitor records and incident reports.