‘ SMS Kottu, RaskhanaPondu ’ (send SMS and get protection). A small pamphlet pasted at an apartment complex gives residents information about a number on which they can call to get protection for their houses when they are going out for a few days.
An SMS to the said number ensures that the local police visits the locked house during the night and keeps a vigil. This initiative has produced excellent results, so much so, that for the past two months, the Sangareddy rural police have not received any complaint of theft. The record is almost zero as far as theft and robbery cases are concerned.
At Pothireddypally village, the entry point to Sangareddy, police have stepped up measures to arrest crime. As part of surveillance, four cameras were fixed at Pothireddypally crossroads in the third week of September to monitor movement from Patancheru, Sangareddy and Zaheerabad.
These CCTV cameras provide footage to the display board at the office of the Circle Inspector of rural police station. The movement of vehicles and persons is recorded with clarity. Pothireddypally has a population of 25,000.
The police experimented with the help of a small-time technician and some philanthropists in this regard and established these cameras at a cost of about Rs. 40,000. As results have been good, the police were planning to establish another 10 cameras at the Bank Colony, Vidya Nagar Colony, market places and banks. The focus was more on banks as more than a dozen banks have established their branches in Pothireddypally.
“The efforts have been yielding results. Crime has drastically reduced and chain-snatchers are also in check under the rural police station limits,” says Mr. Krishna, whose office is near the chowrasta.
“Since we started the SMS system, we have received about 150 SMS alerts from people. Our beat constable makes it a point to visit the area and maintain a record the register. We can proudly claim that no theft or robbery has been recorded in the last two months,” Shamala Venaktesh, Circle Inspector, Sangareddy (Rural) told The Hindu .
