GUWAHATI, Oct 28 - Assam Police�s most potent tool � Dial 100, which is meant to provide faster aid to people in distress, is finding itself in a helpless situation.
With subscribers of telecom major Bharti Airtel in Guwahati being denied access to Dial 100 facility since the last fortnight or so, thousands of �distress callers� have apparently been deprived of the emergency service facility, directly affecting the public order.
Sources told this reporter that the team Dial 100 has taken up the matter of alleged �unprofessionalism� on the part of the telecom companies at the highest level.
In fact, it had claimed to have even sent nearly 40 e-mails to Airtel authorities and also spoke to the BSNL on the matter but has failed to find an answer to the technical snag.
Top Assam Police officials, including the Commissioner of Guwahati Police, have been intimated about the problem that continues to persist till date, much to the ordeal of the callers in need of police attention.
�Airtel is a major player and they are believed to have the most number of subscribers in Assam. If such a situation continues, hundreds of distress callers will be left in the lurch for no fault of theirs. This is a potential threat to the law and order system too,� a senior Assam Police official said.
When asked, an official of Bharti Airtel said, �After examining everything, we have found that the problem is not with us. All the calls of Airtel subscribers are routed through the BSNL and the answer lies at their end. It is same with some other service providers too.
�We, too, are very concerned about it as it is directly linked to public order. We are doing our best to sort out the problem,� the official said without wishing to be named.
A top BSNL official, however, rubbished the claims made by the Airtel authority reasoning, �All the calls, be it Airtel or any other company, are routed through us. But why the problem is only with Airtel. We have a common mechanism for all. The Airtel must get their facts right.�
A victim of the ongoing spat between the telecom companies, said, �A few days back, I was to report an incident in the Christianbasti area. As I am a resident of the area, I had the Dispur police station landline number. But to my utter dismay, I found that the phone was out of order. I then tried to call Dial 100 but despite making several attempts, I failed to get through the line.�
