Bellary: Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras are now catching up in the countryside with farmers increasingly using the technology for security in their estates and to prevent thefts.
These CCTV systems have become a common feature at several coffee estates and at farmhouses that need security measures to prevent thefts and monitor the labour force. But now, small and marginal farmers in the arid central Karnataka region, who grow crops like rice, jowar, sunflower, groundnut, bananas and pan leaves too are adopting the technology.
Nagaraj, a farmer in Kudilgi taluk of Bellary, took to the technology to catch sluggish labourers in the act. He has installed cameras in his five-acre property spending Rs 1.5 lakh so that he can keep a watch on labourers, trespassers and farming activities using his smartphone,sources said.
There are farmers in Chitradurga district who rear sheep and have adopted this system. According to them, CCTVs have come as a welcome respite as earlier, they had to let loose the dogs and rely on rifles to secure their assets.
