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Unheard calls for traffic complaints

Christine Wanner
“For traffic complaints, dial 011-806111,011-806222,011-806888." The yellow advertisements can hardly be overseen on Dhaka's streets, as they are applied on CNG-autorickshaw rears.
But honestly, have you ever dialled one of these numbers to call the police when a CNG or a taxi refiised to take you where you wanted to go? Or worse, when you just faced harassment or even mugging? And if you did dial: was your call answered?
A number of passengers and drivers think they know why people don't resort to the traffic complaints: The people are doubtful about remedy. The police needs to improve their image about responding to
public calls.
But the police says their services are prompt when there is a complaint. It is the expensive cellphone call charges that discourage people to call.
Three years ago, CityCell donated three cellphones to traffic complaints. Its idea was simple: these numbers will help passengers and the police; at the same time these will promote its brand name.
GrameenPhone has also made similar donations, which are used for the same purpose in the traffic control department. Hie numbers 017-. 1000990,017-1000991 and 017-1000992, you get to see seldom on the back of the CNG autorickshaws. If so, they are hand-written. GrameenPhone has rather published them
through newspaper ads.
"There are complaint calls," says Ansar Uddin Khan Pathan, deputy commissioner, Traffic (South) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. "People complain about not being carried where they wanted to be or about being mugged. But, what concerns the frequency of the calls - it is not as often as we had expected."
Asked for the statistics, Pathan denied, as the incoming calls are not counted.
While talking to The Daily Star, CNG and taxi drivers just wonder about the impact of this service. "No, I have not yet seen any impact because someone called one of those numbers. People are hardly aware about that service," says a CNG driver.
Passengers' reactions fit into
the pattern: "Why waste time!" utters Monsur Ahmed. "I have never dialled any phone number to complain about a taxi or a CNG driver. Besides, I just do not believe in their being effective."
Next to turn, another passenger shares his thoughts. "In the city, people have stopped to think collectively. No one would help, not even the police would come."
"If somebody calls, police is there in five minutes!" says Pathan. As very few people own a cellphone, the service is yet to be popular, he believes.
One of these three help-lines provided by CityCell remains down for a month now. Pathan has sought help to restore the line. "But I did not get any reply so far."
"We donated that service to the DMP. Now it is responsible , for it We know, it is not effec-five to hundred percent, but it \ is still better than nothing." says Intekhab Mahmud, CityCell's head of marketing and sales.
"When we got to know one service was out of order, we reacted immediately and fixed it But still, there must be a disconnection, a failure of DMP's phone set that we cannot repair," Mahmud explained.
lb ameliorate the situation, CityCell is planning to introduce a location-based short code in the next week that would connect the calling person with the nearest police station, Mahmud noted. "You know, we carry a social responsibility.”