Cops in western suburbs get more elderly to register………..Megha Sood
Six months ago, the highest number of registrations on the website launched for senior citizens was from south Mumbai.
But now the western suburbs have recorded the most registrations, thanks to the polices concentrated efforts.
Though the project was launched in south Mumbai last year, now the west region has emerged with the highest number of registrations, said R. Badrinathan, chief strategist of Hamari Suraksha Software Solutions, responsible for the collaboration of data on the website.
Since its launch, on September 18, 2009, 37,586 elderly have registered themselves on the Mumbai Polices website, www.hamarisuraksha.com, of which 14,098 are from areas between Bandra and Andheri.
On the website, senior citizens can also upload photographs and details of their domestic help, driver, milkman, newspaper delivery boy, health care providers, relatives and nearest hospitals.
PI Firoz Patel, in-charge of Elderline, the helpline for senior citizens, said: This process will ensure the elderly that help is just seconds away.
Badrinathan said zone IX (Bandra West to Andheri West) in the west region has recorded the highest number of registrations, 8,922, in the city. Of the 22 police stations in the west region, the number of senior citizens registrations from Juhu alone is 1,341 the highest in any area in Mumbai.
In the west region from zone VIII to zone X all police stations have crossed the 1,000-mark in registering the elderly. Earlier Malabar Hill and DB Marg had crossed the mark but now the west is emerging to be the highest, said Badrinathan.
According to the police and website strategists, this shift is mostly because of the concentrated efforts of the police in the west region compared to the other regions south, east, central and north.
We contacted the ALMs and mohalla committees in every area and made sure that they mention the subject at their every gathering. We identified two policemen from each police station and trained them to fill the forms, said Badrinathan. They made the forms simpler and set up counters at parks where senior citizens usually gather. The trained officers help the elderly fill up the forms, and then created their accounts at the police station.
The policemen then go back to the elderly and give them their account number and password, which they can change, and key in more details online. We identify one person in every locality who can reach out to the rest of the elderly in the area, said Badrinathan.
The police in other regions are yet to start this, said Patel.
Police said the number of elderly registering with them has increased only after the launch of the website. Patel said this is because of a wider reach of Internet and a simpler procedure. Till the website was launched only 4,200 elderly had registered with us but because of the website we now have 37,586 registrations, he added.
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