LAUNCH ON NOV 12
In trouble? Call GRP helpline ……..Nitasha Natu I TNN
Mumbai: Stranded on a railway platform with your purse flicked but don’t know where to complain? From November 12, you can dial the Government Railway Polics helpline, which will deal with commuter queries from across the state.
Trained GRP constables will answer calls and forward them to their counterparts stationed at various locations. The operators will later revert to the caller with feedback.
A control room has been set up. Five constables will be stationed there 24 hours to answer calls. The constables have received voice and etiquette training, additional DGP K P Raghuvanshi said. The operators will pass on the information they get from the callers to officers on the field for prompt action. There are 80 officers trained for this.
This is a first-of-its-kind helpline of the GRP; the railways has one such system, but it operates only during business hours.
The helpline will be in the form of a mobile number and call charges will be the same as local cellphone calls. A service provider has joined hands with the railway police for the project. The helpline is restricted to Maharashtra only.
Be it to report a crime or to give information about a suspicious object or person, any train commuter can dial the helpline, a GRP officer said. For example, if you have been a victim of chain-snatching at Vile Parle and are unsure about the police station under whose jurisdiction it falls, the helpline will come in handy. There are instances where commuters are the first to witness railway accidents. If they dial the helpline immediately and inform our officials about the location, the victims will receive prompt help.
In cases of harassment by hawkers and eunuchs, the operators will coordinate with their counterparts in the RPF who deal with such complaints. The helpline is supposed to provide immediate relief to a commuter when he is in difficulty. The operator will note down his name and contact number and revert with feedback, Raghuvanshi said.
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