Jan 14, 2008 (DVB), Closed circuit television cameras installed at busy traffic junctions in Rangoon have now been removed by the city authorities due to high maintenance costs, said sources.

An official from the Rangoon city development committee said the CCTV cameras were installed in Rangoon at the beginning of 2007 as part of a more effective surveillance system in the former capital, but only lasted 10 months before vanishing in October.

"There is no budget for maintenance of the equipment," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It's not only the cameras – the two LCD traffic warning signboards near the Sedona hotel and Inya lake bank have been broken for some time as well and there have been no repairs yet," he said.

"I think the authorities are embarrassed to take them down as it hasn’t been long since they were installed."

The official said this kind of technical equipment was not suitable for Rangoon, where electricity is not consistently available.

A Rangoon taxi driver said the CCTV cameras previously installed at Sule, Shwebontha, Kokkine, Hle Dan and 8-mile junctions in Rangoon have now disappeared.

"The traffic police already have to harass drivers on a daily basis because of the need to earn extra money to cover their force’s costs," said the driver.

"It would be a struggle for them to also bear the burden of maintaining the CCTV cameras."

Reporting by DVB