The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : City helplines in need of help

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

City helplines in need of help

R. Sujatha

File Photo S. THANTHONI

Nerve centre: The police control room in Egmore is busy round the clock. —

Chennai: The city’s police help lines are always busy, often making it difficult to reach them. The number of genuine calls in a day may number less, but manning the helplines require patience on the part of the staffers as many of the callers are not brief.

Common police control room helpline numbers such as 100 and 103, 1091 (for women), 1098 (children) and 1253 (elders) receive more calls seeking enquiries than help, sources in city police say.

The fire service helpline 101 receives around 15 calls on an average during lean days. During monsoon, it increases to 25 with calls for rescue. During summer around 30 calls are received reporting fire accidents. The helpline receives the most number of calls during Deepavali. The elders’ helpline, launched on May 28, is monitored jointly by HelpAge India and Chennai city police. In its first month, it received on an average 5 calls a day. Complaints include abuse, assistance to go to the tahsildar’s office to get pension, besides appealing for shelter. The office has so far received 15 written petitions also.

Helpline 1091 receives calls not just from women but has to deal with issues pertaining to law and order, help for a person with disabilities, harassment of women and sometimes, lack of parking space for vehicles. But genuine calls would number only three a day. Each caller would take their own time to speak about their problems, sometimes requiring counselling that could go even up to half an hour.

The child helpline number 1098 also receives around 5 calls a day. Though it is usually about a missing child, or an abandoned child, many a time an adult could call to complain about child labour or abuse.

“Last week a person called to say that a child was being abused in a home. He was just passing by and noticed that the girl was being sexually harassed and we rescued her,” recalled a constable manning the helpline.

The helpline also receives calls from children who want a story told to them or want to sing rhymes.

With the demand for helplines on the rise, the police say that it would be better if the callers keep to the point. They also underscore the need for additional lines and staff for the helplines.

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