NL Correspondent
SRINAGAR: Apart from maintaining law and order problem, the Central Reserve Police Force has taken a lead in resolving the day to day issues of the people of Kashmir.
The CRPF in June this year launched a helpline, “Madadgaar”, with a toll-free number 14411, the first of its kind in the valley.
Official figures reveal that the CRPF received 69,179 calls on its helpline in the last five months. This means, around 14,000 Kashmiris are seeking help from the CRPF on an average per month.
The CRPF says it received calls on its helpline pertaining to domestic violence, eve-teasing, harassment to Kashmiris outside the state, seeking information about admissions, recruitments, study material, family disputes, career counseling, medical assistance, sports equipments, and administrative issues- electricity, water, roads, transport services, and other day to day problems.
According to the CRPF figures, 35 cases related to misbehavior were solved in the last five months. “Eight to ten cases of domestic violence were solved amicably,” the CRPF figures reveal.
The documents reveal that it spent Rs 40,000 on eye surgery of a girl from Kupwara.
The CRPF helpline also received a call from Bandipora on October. The caller had said that his sister had eye problem. The CRPF claims that it spent Rs 30,000 on her surgery. There are several cases, where the CRPF said it provided medical assistance. The figures reveal that CRPF provided “help” to a caller, whose Scorpio vehicle had stuck at Drugmulla on June 28.
The figures reveal that CRPF received a call from a girl on July 2 that a boy was “calling and misbehaving”. Following which, the CRPF as per the details contacted the caller and warned him of “strict action” if he again calls the girl. “Following which he stopped calling to the girl.”
Similarly, a caller on July 10 had said that there was no doctor at the JVC hospital for four hours. Another called on July 12 had said that police was “not allowing” him to move from Pahalgam to Srinagar. The CRPF said all these cases were solved.
IG CRPF, (Operation) Zulfikar Hassan, said that the response has been “good and encouraging” since the launch of the helpline and would be continue. “This helpline is not only for Kashmiris living in Kashmir but also for Kashmiris staying anywhere across the country as the CRPF is the all India force,” Hassan said. “Some people are still unaware about this helpline. We want to give it more publicity so that more and more get benefit, who require any help.”
