Thecity police landed in a soup after Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) withdrew the facility of toll-free helpline number '103', introduced recently for senior citizens, women and children in distress. The helpline was inaugurated by state home minister RR Patil on Republic Day. However, on Sunday evening, BSNL blocked the facility sanctioned by them a few days earlier.
Local BSNL authorities seem to have left the Nagpur police in a predicament for no fault of the department. After having allocating a dedicated line for public utility, local BSNL authorities realised that it was beyond their powers to sanction such a facility. So, the helpline was withdrawn after remaining functional for three days.
The local BSNL authorities seemed to have realised the glitch after city police tried to extend the facilities to mobile phone users too. Earlier, the helpline was accessible only through landlines. Senior officials of BSNL headquarters at Mumbai apparently pulled up their counterparts here for extending the facility of a three-digit toll-free helpline to the cops without informing the headquarters.
Such a facility requires a nod from the department of telecommunication, which was also not done. These mistakes prompted BSNL to withdraw the service which had promised to dispatch assistance for citizens in despair.
State home minister Patil had even tested the facility in the presence of the media during the press meet at the city police commissioner's office at Civil Lines. Patil had also come up with some suggestions to make the facility more useful.
The three-digit number had replaced the previous seven-digit number allotted to the senior citizen's helpline desk, which was functioning in the police control room. A helpline for women (1091) too had been introduced earlier, but it had failed to gain popularity. A private agency runs a helpline for children too. The latest helpline simplified the entire process by combining all these the facilities in the '103' helpline.
Nagpur city police have now appealed to citizens to use the traditional '100' to contact police for the required help. City police chief Ankush Dhanvijay urged senior citizens, children and women to use the toll free '100' instead of '103' for the time being, before the three-digit toll-free number is restored. "The coordination is being done. Hopefully, the services of 103 would be restored soon," said Dhanvijay.
Dhanvijay has urged senior citizens to contact the nearest police station to submit their personal details, including health status and doctors they are referring to, and get enrolled in the city police's scheme to extend help to them during emergencies.
Deputy inspector general of police Chiranjeev Prasad, who is additional commissioner of police (administration), said that the telecommunication agency wanted to help the police but certain technicalities came in the way. "The permission has been sought afresh now," said Prasad.
Murlidhar Bhatia, principal general manager of BSNL, refrained from commenting on the issue, since he did not have all the details about it.
Local BSNL authorities seem to have left the Nagpur police in a predicament for no fault of the department. After having allocating a dedicated line for public utility, local BSNL authorities realised that it was beyond their powers to sanction such a facility. So, the helpline was withdrawn after remaining functional for three days.
The local BSNL authorities seemed to have realised the glitch after city police tried to extend the facilities to mobile phone users too. Earlier, the helpline was accessible only through landlines. Senior officials of BSNL headquarters at Mumbai apparently pulled up their counterparts here for extending the facility of a three-digit toll-free helpline to the cops without informing the headquarters.
Such a facility requires a nod from the department of telecommunication, which was also not done. These mistakes prompted BSNL to withdraw the service which had promised to dispatch assistance for citizens in despair.
State home minister Patil had even tested the facility in the presence of the media during the press meet at the city police commissioner's office at Civil Lines. Patil had also come up with some suggestions to make the facility more useful.
The three-digit number had replaced the previous seven-digit number allotted to the senior citizen's helpline desk, which was functioning in the police control room. A helpline for women (1091) too had been introduced earlier, but it had failed to gain popularity. A private agency runs a helpline for children too. The latest helpline simplified the entire process by combining all these the facilities in the '103' helpline.
Nagpur city police have now appealed to citizens to use the traditional '100' to contact police for the required help. City police chief Ankush Dhanvijay urged senior citizens, children and women to use the toll free '100' instead of '103' for the time being, before the three-digit toll-free number is restored. "The coordination is being done. Hopefully, the services of 103 would be restored soon," said Dhanvijay.
Dhanvijay has urged senior citizens to contact the nearest police station to submit their personal details, including health status and doctors they are referring to, and get enrolled in the city police's scheme to extend help to them during emergencies.
Deputy inspector general of police Chiranjeev Prasad, who is additional commissioner of police (administration), said that the telecommunication agency wanted to help the police but certain technicalities came in the way. "The permission has been sought afresh now," said Prasad.
Murlidhar Bhatia, principal general manager of BSNL, refrained from commenting on the issue, since he did not have all the details about it.
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