10 August,2010 09:20 AM IST | | Amit Singh
Service started by Noida police has locals in a quandary as calls get connected to Ghaziabad and Delhi
Noida police has the unenviable task of making the city crime free before the start of the Commonwealth Games. The department launched a centralised police assistance number '100' last month. But despite the noble initiative, people residing in Noida are facing problems. Most of the times, calls made to this number either get diverted to police control rooms in Ghaziabad or Delhi.
Meanwhile Noida cops believe that the problem is temporary and will soon be resolved. Speaking to MiD DAY on the issue, Noida Senior Superintendent of Police A K Singh said, "We have been witnessing some problems, especially when calls are made through cellphones. There have always been some problems whenever some new technology is launched. The calls get diverted to Delhi or Ghaziabad. However we plan to resolve the issue soon. We are already working on rectifying the problem."
The 'Dial 100' solution includes Calling Line Identification (CLI) and Direct Inward Dialling (DID) to help in identification and routing. It provides connectivity to mobile PCR vans through two-way radios or GPS. The number also allows citizens to avail emergency services such as from hospitals and fire-stations.
Telecom expert feels that the problem is occurring due to overloads. "This is one of the most obvious reasons. When the receiving tower gets calls more than expected, it automatically transfers it to the next tower. In technical language, this is called traffic control.
So when calls are made to this number and if the tower is overloaded, it automatically get transferred to other bordering areas," said Rishi Sehgal, a telecom expert.
"There could be another reason to this problem. Telecom companies may not have transferred the calls to the integrated control room. Every telecom company is supposed to feed this information beforehand. The calls get diverted only then," Sehgal added.
The helpline also aims to reduce the number of hoax calls the police department gets and provide connectivity to the missing persons and vehicles databases. However hoax calls have become a major problem for the Noida police. In the last week of July, 13097 calls were received by Noida police out of which 11,500 were bogus.
However, the department is optimistic. "This initiative has been taken to help the citizens. With advanced technology, the response time of police for the service is also expected to improve and more than 70 PCRs are present for 'Dial 100' service. We will also take strict action against hoax callers," added Singh.
NUMBERS GAME
Citizens can also dial 0120-2525100 and 0120-2350100 in case of exigencies. These calls will be diverted to the Dial 100 police control centres.
