Panchkula cops press panic button, project shut
Arvind Bishnoi | TNN | Updated: Jan 31, 2019, 10:30 IST
The project had been started on October 17, 2018PANCHKULA: A deluge of fake emergency calls to police has forced the city to close its panic-button project. Women harassed by louts, besides senior citizens who need ambulance, are the biggest losers.
Cops at the control room say the helpful scheme failed because of pranksters who wouldn’t take their hands off the alarm switches installed around Panchkula. Most of the calls from the Sector-15 bus-queue shelter and all from the public park in Sector 10 were a hoax. Sub-inspector Salin Chand, officer in charge of the control room, said: “A patrol team would go to the spot and find nothing over there. It wasted a lot of our time. We came to know that a few youngsters were playing tricks on us for fun.”
On October 17, 2018, the municipal corporation (MC) fitted three emergency buttons each at eight locations. They helped anyone in distress or keen to report an emergency to set off an alarm from two bus-queue shelters (Sectors 10 and 15), two public parks (New India Public School, Sector 15, and house 380, Sector 10), two shops (Manchanda Fashioners, Sector 15, and Jolly Copy House, Sector 10), and two industrial sites (Shri Ram Plywood and Kuber Homes).
The three emergency buttons were for alerting the emergency control rooms of the fire station, police, and civil hospital. The Panchkula MC had claimed it to be the country’s first civic body to test the concept. Municipal commissioner Rajesh Jogpal had launched the project from the mini secretariat in Sector 1, in the company of the-then deputy commissioner of police, Abhishek Jorwal. He said on the occasion: “The button will get residents quick help during trouble.”
People could report crimes, fires, and medical emergencies at odd hours and in real time. Live feed from the location helped the respective control room calculate the response time. The buttons in parks helped senior citizens a lot. These were installed after a safety audit of 1,246 locations, of which 897 were found “uncomfortable” for women and 112 “frightening” because of poor security and dysfunctional street lights.
The rescue teams had received extensive responder training along with new equipment and the experience of drills. The MC had partnered with German technology consultant Mutelcor GmbH, which works in many countries. The wireless panic button is based on the LoRa technology for smart cities and industrial applications. Developed in Germany, it is being used successfully in many European countries, where misuse is minimal.
Cops at the control room say the helpful scheme failed because of pranksters who wouldn’t take their hands off the alarm switches installed around Panchkula. Most of the calls from the Sector-15 bus-queue shelter and all from the public park in Sector 10 were a hoax. Sub-inspector Salin Chand, officer in charge of the control room, said: “A patrol team would go to the spot and find nothing over there. It wasted a lot of our time. We came to know that a few youngsters were playing tricks on us for fun.”
On October 17, 2018, the municipal corporation (MC) fitted three emergency buttons each at eight locations. They helped anyone in distress or keen to report an emergency to set off an alarm from two bus-queue shelters (Sectors 10 and 15), two public parks (New India Public School, Sector 15, and house 380, Sector 10), two shops (Manchanda Fashioners, Sector 15, and Jolly Copy House, Sector 10), and two industrial sites (Shri Ram Plywood and Kuber Homes).
The three emergency buttons were for alerting the emergency control rooms of the fire station, police, and civil hospital. The Panchkula MC had claimed it to be the country’s first civic body to test the concept. Municipal commissioner Rajesh Jogpal had launched the project from the mini secretariat in Sector 1, in the company of the-then deputy commissioner of police, Abhishek Jorwal. He said on the occasion: “The button will get residents quick help during trouble.”
People could report crimes, fires, and medical emergencies at odd hours and in real time. Live feed from the location helped the respective control room calculate the response time. The buttons in parks helped senior citizens a lot. These were installed after a safety audit of 1,246 locations, of which 897 were found “uncomfortable” for women and 112 “frightening” because of poor security and dysfunctional street lights.
The rescue teams had received extensive responder training along with new equipment and the experience of drills. The MC had partnered with German technology consultant Mutelcor GmbH, which works in many countries. The wireless panic button is based on the LoRa technology for smart cities and industrial applications. Developed in Germany, it is being used successfully in many European countries, where misuse is minimal.
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