In trouble in Bengaluru? Don't call the helplines
Synopsis
Most of the helplines opened to help people in distress do not respond Some of them do not work during emergencies and some are completely inactive Reality check by Asianet Newsable gives stunning details
The big question is - why do they not work during the emergencies. Here are some of them -
The 1091 helpline was set up the government in 2013 to help women in distress. However the number has become inactive.
Similar to 1090 another helpline for elders faces a whole different kind of issue. Far from emergencies, most calls ask queries about garbage and streetlights, annoying the attenders.
A reality check by Asianet Newsable on these helpline centres revealed that many helplines are just 'dummy pieces'.
Let's take 1091. Asianet Newsable was initially alerted by one, R K Patil. She tried the number to check how it functioned. But to her surprise, the call was disconnected as soon as she rang 1091. The same happened when members of this organisation dialled the number. The number was opened with much fanfare in 2013 by the then home minister R Ashoka after the Delhi Nirbhaya gang rape case.
These helpline numbers were said to be great help for women in distress. However, the number has become almost ineffective.
Taking the other side of the story, Asianet Newsable reached out to the member of the staff. We were informed that initially, prank calls flooded the helpline, though they have reduced over the past few months.
"It could be the technical glitch resulted in fewer calls. The department, however, has another number - '100' - which bridges the gap. But it is not a replacement for the exclusive women's helpline number," she said.
Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime Wing, S Ravi stressed that the city was giving more prominence to complaints coming from women and elders and would rectify the mistakes. "I have recently taken charge and the issue will be solved soon,“ he said.
"Many a time prank calls also come on this number, and we get irritated. If one or two are punished for making prank calls, such unrelated calls and prank calls will come down at elder’s helpline," he added.