Ludhiana Police mobile phones do not ring a bell

LUDHIANA: Following the example of Bathinda Police, the Ludhiana Police had started a ''pooled cell phone network'' this August, where all police officers, incharge of police stations and police pickets, would operate through 250 cell phones'' network.
As per the project, the numbers were to be displayed on hoardings across the city so that the victim could immediately contact the concerned official at any hour.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Narinderpal Singh had expected that the network would be expanded to 500 phones by mid-September.
The effort, however, has been a damp squib so far and undoubtedly, it never matched the vigour with which the Bathinda Police had begun it.
Even as the Ludhiana Police SSP had the same drive when he started the venture, he failed to evoke the desired response from his officers.
Most of the cell phones either continue to ring without any reply, or are usually switched off, including those of the senior police officials.
Moreover, since these phones were a part of the corporate package, the officials had got their personal cell phones disconnected, leaving the complainants with a little choice to get in touch with them.
Another hindrance was the lack of awareness amongst the public as no proper media was adopted to advertise the numbers.
SSP Narinder Pal said the connections were provided by Air Tel at subsidised rates and the rental was paid from the Ludhiana police pool.
Pal said he would look into complaints of ''no response'' by the officials and take action soon. But then the problem does not end here.
Complaints of officers being moody and unpredictable rather than professional in their response are also in abundance.
Sources said the Punjab Police had launched the project in Ludhiana on experimentation basis, and if it would have been successful here, the other districts would have followed suit.
But two months after the project was launched, the Ludhiana Police has still miles to go.