BENGALURU: If you get a call from the Bangalore Police Control room, don’t panic. They will only ask if you and your family are safe. The Bengaluru City Police (BCP) has come out with this initiative of making calls. The move started by City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao aims at ensuring people are feeling safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
Sherin CM, a resident of ITI Layout, who got a call from the Police Control room, said she was both surprised and shocked. "It was unusual. I got a call to ask if my family was safe. I asked why and the control room caller said it was just to check on their safety. At first I was scared but then I felt very secure. I think such calls do make us feel safe especially during the COVID-19 times where we are already stressed and scared about everything. It is indeed a brilliant initiative by the BCP." So far, 20,000 calls have been made to different people in the city.
Speaking to TNIE, police chief Bhaskar Rao said, "Daily we call 1,000 people and ask people about their well being. This is just a goodwill gesture, where we can get to know people's problems. When we had called, some of the senior citizens had said that it was difficult for them to go out and get medicines or some said they had to go for dialysis but couldn’t go by themselves. We immediately arranged for Hoysalas, the patrolling vehicles. There was one person who even said his daughter was staying alone in another state and she was unwell and that they wanted to go there. So we looked into making arrangements for their travel."
He added, "We have a data base of numbers and we are calling everyone from there. There have even been cases where people have told us about domestic violence or robbery. The Hoysalas and police staff are immediately sent there to check and action is taken. Like this we can provide them comfort and it will help in building good relation between the police and citizens."
The BCP has also started another initiative - #NanuKoodaBengaluruPolice (I’m also Bengaluru Police) - where an individual needs to be disciplined. Some sportspersons and celebrities also put up videos with the same hashtag.
"This is called soft policing, where there is orderliness in the society. If one takes his/her own responsibility, it will do good for all. We can’t keep saying stay inside the houses, be safe. It should come from within," said Rao.