GRP upgrades helpline, assures help to distressed passenger in 30 seconds

The Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner said that after the helpline revamp, they have been receiving at least 60 emergency calls a day compared to 20 or 25 calls received previously.

MUMBAI: After receiving numerous complaints from commuters about the Government Railway Police (GRP) helpline number 1512 not being accessible, GRP has tied up with a private mobile service provider to revamp the helpline to make it more victim friendly and reduce the response time.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) has tied up with a private mobile service provider to revamp the helpline to make it more victim friendly and reduce the response time. (File/HT)

GRP commissioner Quaiser Khaleed claimed that after the revamp, they have been receiving at least 60 emergency calls a day compared to 20 or 25 previously as most of the calls used to get dropped or could not connect. The total number of calls received by the helpline in a day is 600 but at least 540 calls are regarding train enquiry.

Khaleed said that a proposal for the upgradation of control room and helpline was submitted to the Child and Women Welfare ministry. After the approval, the control room situated at Wadibunder GRP headquarters, which caters to the entire state, has been upgraded to be more receptive to commuter complaints.

“Several calls earlier used to get dropped or connection was so poor that the call could not get dispatched through. Sometimes the calls even landed at Delhi control room as the entire country was connected through the same telephone line. But now we have tied up through a private service provider and upgraded the server so that every call is attended and gets through,” said Khaleed.

According to Khaleed, at present, 6 constables, including three women constables, have been assigned to answer commuter problems through the helpline.

Through the upgraded system, Khaleed said that help would reach the victim within 30 seconds. Earlier, it used to take at least 3 minutes.

At present, the entire GRP force has been linked to the control room via Global Positioning System (GPS) making the location of each constable visible on the system. Khaleed said that now when a distress call is received, the control room staff asks them about the train and compartment they are in, and then with the help of GPS tracking the available constable is highlighted on the system, and within 30 seconds the caller is connected to the on-duty constable through a conference call. “The response time of force has been reduced so that the help reaches the caller before the train could move ahead,” said Khaleed.

“If a call is received from Bandra station, the GRP constable would be present at Khar station even before the train could reach there to help the commuter as soon as he reaches Khar. This helps in curbing crime before the accused can flee,” said a police officer.

Khaleed said that now each call is received and even the missed calls are visible so that the caller can be contacted.

When asked about the nature of emergency calls, officials said 75 percent of them are related to left behind luggage or missing mobile phones. Apart from that, some calls are related to nuisance, sick or injured person. The officer said that not just receiving calls, but the control room is also in charge of taking feedback from each of the callers.

A day after a commuter makes an emergency call, he will receive a call back asking about the feedback of GRP officials, whether his problem was tackled on time or he had any difficulties, “The caller is asked about his experience and also whether he received help. We then maintain a log of all these feedback calls and submit it for review,” said a GRP official.