Metro India News | Hyderabad 

In a move now hailed as a national benchmark for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in community safety, the Chilkur Balaji Temple has spearheaded the installation of 60 solar-powered surveillance cameras across remote village temples in the Moinabad region.

The initiative showcases a first-of-its-kind partnership between temples and major banks to enhance security in underserved rural areas where vulnerable shrines often operate without stable power or monitoring systems.

The project has been funded through CSR contributions from two major public-sector banks. State Bank of India (SBI) has sponsored 50 cameras, while Union Bank of India (UBI) has supported the installation of 10. The solar-enabled system ensures uninterrupted monitoring, offering a crucial deterrent to vandalism, theft and other security threats in isolated temple locations.

The formal handover of payment to the vendor took place at the Chilkur Balaji Temple, attended by K Srinivasa Rao, Additional DCP Rajendranagar, who commended the project as a timely community-safety intervention. 

SBI DGM Salil Shukla and Regional Manager Nithin Kumar noted that incorporating remote surveillance into CSR activities marks a pioneering step with potential for nationwide replication.

The effort was led by hereditary archakas and trustees C S Gopalakrishna and C S Rangarajan, representing his father Dr. M V Soundararajan. They stressed that many rural temples lack reliable electricity and remain exposed to miscreants. Solar-powered CCTV, they said, provides a sustainable and scalable solution.

Expressing gratitude to the banks and police, Rangarajan affirmed that the Chilkur model could soon guide similar CSR-driven safety networks for temple clusters across India.