Bhopal police get only seven subscribers

YOU ARE in dire need of help at odd hours in the face of a sudden medical emergency or robbers are almost into the house and you cannot even make a hushed phone call, what will you do?

YOU ARE in dire need of help at odd hours in the face of a sudden medical emergency or robbers are almost into the house and you cannot even make a hushed phone call, what will you do?

HT Image

There is a solution available for this oft-faced problem in the form of a unique Save our Souls (SOS) hotline for elderly that alerts the police in such circumstances without having to make a phone call. However, this seemingly helpful service has failed to evoke any interest in residents even after a spate of murders of elderly residents who live alone and are at greater risk.

Despite the police having made several appeals during the course of one year that the free-of-cost security alarm system has been launched, the number of subscribers in the 16-lakh odd populated City could not even reached double digit.

The slaying of a couple in the heart of the Walled City recently has again highlighted the risk to elderly citizens living alone. And while the capital’s cops cannot escape their responsibility, the fate of this modern SOS system puts some onus on the residents also for their lackadaisical approach to the scheme.

If it is a medical emergency then he could be taken to hospital. Initially, the scheme was aimed at just the elders, jewellery shop owners and banks but the response has been far from encouraging. The scheme was started last year with the assistance of BSNL.