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Crank callers create disaster for civic cell..........Sujit Mahamulkar Mumbai
IT COULD be the citizens’ way of hitting back at the Brihanmumbai Municipal (BMC) Corporation’s alacrity at solving civic problems. And Saturday was quite a nightmare for the BMC’s disaster management cell.
On a day when it had drizzled only intermittently, a caller from Motilal Nagar in Goregaon sent an SOS message: “floodwater level in the area has risen due to heavy rain”. The prankster even claimed that the water level had swelled up to the first floor level and asked the call attendant to rescue people in the area, informed an said an employee of the disaster management cell who spoke on condition of anonymity . That was just one of many such phone calls that the Disaster Management cell has been grappling with, of late. And officials manning phone lines at the cell admit that they are at the end of their tether, thanks to such crank calls. “Indeed, it was shocking to hear about the rising wa- ter level that he mentioned,” said the official. “But we did our job and passed the com- plaint to the concerned ward. When our team reached the spot with boats and other rescue equipment, they saw that there was a bit of water logging but below the knee level.” Generally, the disaster management cell receives over 300 calls every day about civic problems, ward assistance, seeking informa tion or to complain about illegal structures in the area. During monsoon, the cell staff have been receiving additional calls regarding water logging, about trees being uprooted, wall collapses and other rain-related issues. Of the total complaints, a tenth of the calls (about 30) are hoax calls. Considering the loss of time and waste of effort due to such calls, officials of the Disaster Management cell have reported the matter to the joint municipal commissioner of the Disaster Management department, S.S. Shinde. “It is true that we get nearly 10 per cent fake com plaints,” confirmed Shinde. Speaking about the SOS call received last Saturday, Shinde said: “Initially, the caller came across as gen uine. We tracked down the culprit but did not take ac tion against him.” “People should under stand the gravity of the situ ation and stop giving false information or spreading rumours,” said Shinde, adding, “We are now consid ering action against such fake complainants,” sujit.mahamulkar@ hindustantimes.com |
