On any given day, one number that most people can remember when they need help, report a crime, or even if they don’t exactly know who to approach is the police helpline ‘100’. During these unprecedented times too, it is the same number that is becoming the go-to platform for help.
The Bengaluru City Police (BCP) say the number of calls to 100 has doubled, and the nature of calls too has seen a shift towards COVID-19, much like their work.
“We are getting calls from people who say groceries or milk in their house is over. Some call to say they are out of medicines. Recently, a Hoysala helped a person get to a hospital, but that person wanted the police vehicle to wait till their check up was over – like a taxi,” said a police official.
There are some humorous instances too. In one case, a couple went to a hospital. But when the woman spotted a Hoysala outside the hospital, she asked her husband to go ahead in their two-wheeler as she wanted to travel in a police vehicle.
But police personnel have become a lifeline for those in emergencies during the lockdown. Isha Pant, DCP, Command Centre said a lot of emergency calls are from the elderly. “Work-wise, the number of calls have doubled. But we are equipped with enough lines and personnel to handle them,” she said.
Despite many obstacles, faceless teams behind helpline machineries are making the lockdown a little more bearable for citizens in need.
With the elderly being touted as a particularly vulnerable group during the pandemic, the elders’ helpline (1090) is busy.
Swati Bhandary, associate director, Nightingales Medical Trust, which runs the helpline with the city police, said the staff is working in shifts from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., after which the police takes over the helpline. “There is pick up and drop arrangement for some of the staff from the police and the trust. At any time, there are four counsellors and police manning the helpline,” she said.
The staff is mindful of maintaining distance and ensuring they don’t come in contact with their family immediately after reaching home.
The helpline is getting around 35 calls every day from elders asking help with medicines, groceries, gas cylinder booking and even about power cuts during rains. The counsellors and police either help them out with phone numbers and other information, connect with Hoysalas in the area or local police stations, and also with local volunteers for groceries and other requirements. “We have a database of those verified by the police because it is seniors. We have to be doubly careful,” she said.
The hunger helpline is seeing in excess of 14,000 inbound and outbound calls a day from the hungry and needy. Working out of the DIPR office along with a private vendor in Rajajinagar, officials and teams of volunteers are managing everything – from taking calls to delivering food to the needy.
Samudyata Kadur Shivaram, one of the volunteers coordinating the effort, said staffing was a huge problem as nobody wanted to work outside their homes during these times. “We also need people who speak different languages – not just Kannada or Hindi – because a lot of those in need are migrant workers from different States,” she said.
“Each one is a distress call; they are crying for food. They should know how to calm them down. For smooth functioning, a different technology team is working, and we are looking at data driven decisions,” she said, adding that capturing the address of a caller is also a challenge as they are on the move.
