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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
‘From traffic chaos to chilling crimes': Inside Bengaluru's 112 Emergency Control Room
Beside the commissioner's office in Bengaluru lies a control room within the walls of a newly constructed command centre. This is a place that never sleeps. This is Bengaluru's Emergency Control Room – known simply as '112' – where every ring of the phone could be the start of a life-saving rescue, a high-stakes investigation, or sometimes, a heartbreaking mystery. As per the data from June 11, 2025, to July 8, 2025, the control room has fielded over 17,000 calls – each one acted upon by trained personnel working around the clock in three shifts. The command centre is managed by BVG India, a private agency contracted by the police. According to Jyothi T, audit in-charge and trainer at the centre, 'Eighty-seven per cent of these calls are genuine emergency-related cases.' The remaining calls are blank, or even fake calls that are vulgar in nature, often targeted at women responders, she added. Despite the misuse of the service, Jyothi said, the team has maintained an 'impressive average response time of just three seconds to pick up a call and under two minutes to dispatch police teams.' The centre uses both auto-dispatch and manual dispatch systems. The centre trainer said that dispatches are always based on vehicle proximity to the incident location, with vehicles known as Hoysala patrol units being alerted, and responders cutting through city traffic to reach a caller in distress. Traffic-related grievances top the list of calls that are received by the centre. Complaints range from congestion at key junctions to unruly crowds. Public disturbances and crowd management cases also spike during festivals or political events. However, there are more serious – and sometimes tragic – calls too. 'We get multiple suicide alerts, murder reports, and missing persons cases every week,' said Jyoti. Not every call is routine, with some remaining etched in the memories of the responders. Describing one such case, Jyoti said, 'During Ugadi last year, a 28-year-old woman called us crying at 2 am. She said her husband was beating her, and her children were dead. But then she said, 'They are right in front of me, speaking to me'.' 'It turned out that the woman was reportedly suffering from mental illness, and she had suffocated her two children and killed her husband. The children were found dead in festive clothes, adding a chilling layer to an already tragic case,' she added. Even amidst incidents like these, the system stays operational. 'We log, assess, and dispatch,' said Jyoti, adding that 'we can't afford errors or delays.' In addition to 112 calls, the centre oversees 7,500 CCTV cameras placed across Bengaluru, all maintained by Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. These include PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) cameras, HD units, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras (876 in number), and Facial Recognition System (FRS) cameras (1,500 in number). (Bhoomika Roy Bannerjee is an intern with The Indian Express)
New Indian Express
6 days ago
- New Indian Express
Coimbatore launches 'Smart Khakki' bike patrols to boost rural safety
COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore District (Rural) police have launched a new bike patrolling unit called 'Smart Khakki,' aiming for crime prevention and traffic regulation in the rural areas of Coimbatore district. This initiative was inaugurated by Coimbatore District Police Superintendent Dr K Karthikeyan at the Police Recruit School (PRS) campus in the city on Friday. He announced that 35 bike patrolling units have been established, each consisting of two police officers. These units will focus on preventing crime, particularly crimes against children and women, while ensuring visible policing at major public gatherings. "These units will operate round the clock, with each police station receiving one unit. Heavier stations will have up to three teams to cover their jurisdictions," said SP Karthikeyan. The personnel selected for the patrolling units are chosen from their respective police limits and are trained to use advanced devices such as body-worn cameras, communication equipment, and breath analyzers for vehicle checking. They also have access to the Facial Recognition System (FRS) to identify individuals with criminal backgrounds and can utilize the e-Vahan and e-Challan applications to track records of individuals or their vehicles. SP Karthikeyan emphasised that the 'Smart Khakki' unit will respond to emergency and distress calls from the public. Unlike regular patrols that operate within specific timeframes, these units will be active around the clock. They will monitor areas around educational institutions during morning and evening hours, ensure a police presence at bus stands and markets, and conduct night patrols between 2 am and 5 am. The bikes assigned to the units have been slightly modified, and their call sign is 'Khakki.' The SP expressed hope that this initiative will help reduce crime and increase visible policing in the community.
New Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Four-day training camp for DCHS across Andhra Pradesh from tomorrow
VIJAYAWADA: The Health Department will organise a four-day training camp for District Coordinators of Hospital Services (DCHSs) starting July 8 to improve healthcare governance and service delivery in secondary hospitals across Andhra Pradesh. The programme will cover 242 hospitals, including Community Health Centres (CHCs), District Hospitals, and Regional Hospitals. The decision follows a review meeting led by Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav, where officials highlighted gaps in supervision, awareness, and governance affecting the quality of care. The Minister stressed the need to equip officers with better knowledge of service management and accountability. Director of Secondary Health Services Dr A Siri has designed a structured module for the training, focusing on administrative governance, legal issue handling, scheme implementation, vigilance protocols, DDO roles, audits, budgeting, treasury codes, and the Dr NTR Medical Services. The camp will also address coordination between healthcare providers and patients, as well as staff attendance monitoring through the Facial Recognition System (FRS), aimed at improving accountability. 'This is the first time since State bifurcation that such focused training is being given to DCHSs,' said Dr Siri. The initiative is expected to strengthen district-level leadership and improve delivery of health services statewide.
India Gazette
24-06-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Congress's only job is to spread lies," Annapurna Devi slams Jairam Ramesh over technology remarks
New Delhi [India], June 24 (ANI): Union Minister Annapurna Devi hit back at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh for claiming that the Modi government is using technology to keep poor people away from welfare schemes. She said the government uses tools like Aadhaar, biometrics, and face recognition to ensure help reaches the right people quickly and without corruption. However, Jairam Ramesh claimed that these technologies are making it harder for pregnant women, tribals, and workers to get the benefits they deserve. In a post on X on Monday, Annapurna Devi wrote, 'The Modi government is ensuring transparency and inclusion in welfare schemes through technology. Congress's only job is to spread lies and misconceptions, and to hinder the effective implementation of our government's schemes. With the help of modern technologies like Facial Recognition System (FRS), Biometric and Aadhaar, the government today is successful in reaching the last line beneficiary.' Devi dismissed claims that technology is reducing access to welfare schemes, stating that the number of first-time beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) has actually increased, from 72.05 lakh in 2019-20 to a record 80.48 lakh in 2024-25, with over 27 lakh already registered in the first quarter of 2025-26. 'It is totally wrong to say that the use of technology has led to a decline in PMMVY beneficiaries. First-time beneficiaries in 2019-20: 72.05 lakh, increase to: 80.48 lakh in 2024-25 (highest ever number) and in the first quarter of 2025-26 itself: 27 lakh+ beneficiaries,' the post reads. She said over 10 crore farmers receive monthly DBT under PM-Kisan, and more than 20 crore families benefit from ration and financial aid under PMGKY. 'Today, over 10 crore farmers are receiving direct benefit transfers (DBT) every month through the PM-Kisan scheme, and more than 20 crore families are availing ration and financial support under the PMGKY. This is not the tenure of Congress, where if you gave Rs 1, only 15 paise would reach the beneficiary. This is the Modi Government, where if you give Rs 100, the full Rs 100 reaches the beneficiary,' the post further reads. Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had accused the Modi government of using technology to block poor and vulnerable people from getting welfare benefits. In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh wrote, 'The Modi government is systematically using technology to deprive the most deprived sections of the country of the rights they receive under social welfare schemes. First, Aadhaar was used as a weapon to exclude crores of workers from MNREGA. Acid attack survivors had to fight in court just to get their names added to Aadhaar. Tribals across the country are still deprived of their ration due to technical glitches. Now, pregnant women have been faced with yet another hurdle face recognition technology (FRT) has now been made mandatory to avail of the basic and legal rights under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).' He alleged that due to technical issues, the number of women receiving help under the PM Matru Vandana Yojana dropped from 96 lakh in 2019-20 to just 27 lakh in 2023-24. 'There is evidence around the world that techniques such as FRT discriminate on the basis of skin colour and class. Earlier, there has been evidence of failure and disruption of technologies such as Aadhaar based payment system (ABPS), National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app. The 365th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Child, Youth and Sports also mentioned how the implementation of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana disrupted the access of benefits to pregnant and lactating result of this was that the scheme under which 96 lakh women received payment in 2019-20, was reduced to just 27 lakh in 2023-24. The aim of Digital India should be empowerment and not snatching away rights. Speech is about inclusion, behavior is about exclusion - this should not be the case,' the post reads. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
OGW detected in face recognition system in Anantnag, nabbed
Ahead of the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra, the Facial Recognition System (FRS) deployed by Anantnag district police at Langanbal Naka detected an over ground worker (OGW) on Thursday. Police said that the individual, a resident of Seer Hamdan (police station Mattan jurisdiction) with a prior FIR registered in 2005, was working as a carpenter. He was subsequently handed over to the Pahalgam police station for further legal action, they added. 'This swift interception highlights the impact of technology-driven policing and is to send a clear deterrent message to miscreants as SANJY-2025 approaches,' Police spokesman said, adding that Anantnag district police has already enhanced electronic surveillance along all yatra corridors to ensure a safe and seamless pilgrimage experience. 'Anyone attempting to disrupt public order—or threaten pilgrims' safety—will be swiftly identified and dealt with under law.
