PCR lines ringing most about curfew, quarantine violators in Chandigarh

Helpline number 112 provides collective services of police, ambulance and fire department

Calls informing police about violators of curfew orders and home quarantine top the charts at the UT police control room (PCR).

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Figures from the department reveal that in the 21 days between March 23 and April 12, the control room (112) received 9,718 calls, of which 1,750 were tips about either curfew violators or quarantined people, who were stepping out either with their family members or to walk their dogs.

“There have been multiple instances where residents have called about their quarantined neighbours venturing out of the house. Often, by the time police teams reach, the violator has already gone back inside,” said a police official, familiar with many such situations.

The official added most residents called only to alert the control room, but didn’t give a formal complaint to avoid conflicts with neighbours. It’s difficult to take action in the absence of a complaint or photographic proof, he said.

Helpline number 112 provides collective services of police, ambulance and fire department.

Residents also took it upon themselves to notify police about their neighbours who had returned from abroad before the international flights were suspended on March 23. “Although an official list of foreign travellers was maintained by us, we still got many calls about such people. On a few occasions, the information proved vital for us,” said Nilambari Jagadale, senior superintendent of police (SSP).

With UT police supplying daily ration and cooked food to people in the city regularly, the control room received 1,456 calls for essential commodities.

“Desperate people in dire need of essential commodities call the control room. We respond swiftly and make sure that anybody, who genuinely doesn’t have food or essentials, is taken care of,” Jagadale added.

There were 426 calls for queries on Covid-19, 326 by senior citizens seeking help and 200 by residents curious about the lockdown.

Several residents also called for details of testing laboratories, quarantine centres and treatment facilities in their vicinity.