Helplines seldom help in Panchkula

PANCHKULA: Helpline numbers seldom help the Panchkulites. Friday's incident of fire that broke out in the Sector 15 market has exposed the fact that not even a single helpline number, whether it is for the police or fire or ambulance, connects at the time of need.
Taking serious note of the incident, Panchkula MC has decided to tell people not to rely on these helpline numbers, instead, assured them that they would be displaying simple landline numbers in various sectors for help.
It was on Friday morning when a major fire broke out in the market of Sector 15, Panchkula, and the helpless shopkeepers kept calling 101 number, but it did not materialize. Then the shopkeepers called at the 100 number to contact the police but that number also did not materialize. The fire brigade officials could be contacted when someone went there. The whole exercise wasted crucial 45 minutes.
"We just know basic emergency numbers like 100,101 and 102. Who knows the other landline number? Recently, when my uncle met with an accident, I called 100 number and it got connected at the Karnal police control room," said Raju Luthria, a resident of Sector 7, Panchkula.
Vinod Kumar, a shopkeeper of Sector 15 who suffered huge losses due to Friday's fire incident, said, "We almost half-an-hour we tried contacting the fire brigade, but the number did not connect. Had the number been working properly we would have not suffered so much loss."
MC executive officer O P Sihag, said, "This problem is being faced for long. We have decided to display simple landline numbers in various sectors."