Under digital control

Today, there are 30 apartment buildings and 1,122 courtyards in the Olimpiya mahalla with an area of 42.8 hectares, where 1,564 families live. 

Extensive work was done to ensure security in the area. Intercoms were installed at 78 entrances. A total of 109 surveillance cameras have been installed, and technologies for vehicle license plate and face recognition have also been included in the system. The cameras are connected to the "Safe City" center, 72 of them are also monitored from the service room of the prevention inspector.

The camera sees — the system provides information

Captain Siroj Masharipov, senior mahalla prevention inspector, believes that today the activities of workers in the field are also changing radically:

- In the past, the prevention inspector was seen in the imagination of the population only as an employee who came and drew up a report when a violation occurred. Now, he should be an expert who has thoroughly mastered the possibilities of modern technologies and artificial intelligence, and at the same time, can walk among the population and win the trust of the people.

The captain points to the monitors in the service room, noting that a large part of the area can be fully monitored at the same time.

- The camera sees, the system provides information, artificial intelligence analyzes. But a person still listens to a person's pain. Technology does not replace the preventive inspector, but rather expands his capabilities. It is not enough to wear a uniform to create an image, it is formed by the trust of the people, the tranquility of the area and the results of the work done. This is the real image, when both Nurani, youth and women can easily contact the inspector.

The prevention inspector adds that he knows the mahalla well, both yesterday and today:

- Earlier, this area was restless, there were many quarrels and riots, people hesitated to walk in the evening. Now it is completely different. Most importantly, the population's attitude towards the mahalla has changed. All the conditions for work have been created for us: there is technology, there is a system, there is an opportunity. There is no room for excuses, only if we work hard!

The area is in the "yellow" category

Crime in the mahalla has been almost completely curbed: so far, only one case related to the loss of a phone due to carelessness has been recorded, and the area is included in the "yellow" category.

There are 21 citizens (those under probation control, alcoholics, drug addicts, and conflicted families) in the prevention account. It is noteworthy that divorces were not recorded at all, two families that were on the verge of divorce were reconciled.

Such indicators show the importance of targeted prevention and individual work with citizens along with modern technologies.

"Intelligence" only 

not in cameras

It would not be correct to attribute the changes in the Olimpiya mahalla only to surveillance cameras - there are also creative works. The facades of 19 apartment buildings in the area were completely repaired, 78 entrances were renewed, and a total of 0.8 kilometers of sidewalks were built.

Also, 3 workouts and 10 children's playgrounds, 10 verandas, "Patriotic Garden" and an amphitheater were organized in the mahalla. Books can be read through the QR-codes near the seats installed in the courtyards. And the night lights make evening walks of residents safe and pleasant.

All 1122 apartments are fully supplied with centralized electricity, drinking water and natural gas. A comprehensive school, state-owned and private kindergartens, as well as football, volleyball and streetball fields are operating in the area.

Therefore, it is wrong to look at the concept of “Smart mahalla” only as digital control. Only when security, improvement, employment, social protection and quality services are combined into one system, the mahalla becomes a truly comfortable and prosperous place of life.

Free from unemployment

The objects in this mahalla are mainly specialized in the direction of trade and service, 85 business entities and 18 different branches serving the population are operating in the area. Employment of 43 unemployed citizens identified in the mahalla was fully provided, loans, subsidies and preferential loans were allocated to the population. This year, 9 micro-projects were implemented and 27 new jobs were created.

- If an entrepreneur works, a citizen earns an income, and services develop in the region, many social problems will be reduced by themselves. The main goal is not only to collect taxes, but to restart businesses that have stopped operating and create new jobs, said Sardor Abdullayev, head of the Urganch city tax inspection.

Technology and legality

Modern surveillance systems open the door to a wide range of possibilities. But in using any digital system, legality and absolute observance of the rights of citizens are of great importance.

Urganch city prosecutor Mirza Vapayev expressed his opinion in this regard:

- The importance of digitization should not be limited to finding the culprit when a crime is committed. Its greatest effect is to prevent such situations. At the same time, the use of advanced technologies requires legality, reliable protection of personal data, and strict adherence to the constitutional rights of citizens.

The main goal is early prevention of crimes

Muzaffar Achilov, head of the Urganch city police department, also notes that the main criterion of prevention is to prevent crime from being committed:

- The most important result for internal affairs bodies is not only to solve the crime, but first of all to prevent it. The new system in "Olympia" allows the prevention inspector to quickly control the area, but the camera does not replace him. The inspector talks to the person face-to-face, gets to know the family environment, and learns the cause of the problem. And technology will be a reliable assistant in performing these tasks.

Harmonious system

Mayor of Urganch Bunyod Rajapov connects the concept of “Smart mahalla” with real changes in the lives of citizens:

“Smart mahalla” should not mean only cameras and computers. The result is measured by whether a person walks safely on the street, whether there is a playground for his child, whether the street is well-lit, whether he is able to find a decent job. The main goal of "Olympia" is to turn technology, security and landscaping into a harmonious system.


Nilufar JABBOROVA,

our own reporter.

Khorezm region.