Mumbai: Police Control Rooms not in control

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan made a telling revelation to NDTV soon after the Mumbai serial blasts: he could not contact his chief of police for 15 minutes soon after the incident.

"Networks got congested. I could not contact the Chief of Police. I could not contact DG Police," said Mr Chavan, in an interview to NDTV.

Ten days after the blasts, the Police Control Room had two rare visitors: Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Home Minister  R R Patil, to survey the wireless communications nerve centre that had failed, for a while, right after the 13/7 blasts.

The situation of the control room has not improved much since then.

• The control room has been weakened by vacancies. Of its 4,000 positions 1,000 have been unoccupied for years
• It still uses analog wireless systems, installed 12 years ago, whose warranty has expired in 2009. Whereas states like Delhi and Andhra Pradesh have moved onto digital technology
• It has 3,605 wireless devices, to reach its force across the city. There are no spares to meet an emergency or assist the elite forces joining in an operation
• An order for 400 more sets has been placed in June. A Rs 15 crore order that is awaiting clearance
• The systems are so old that only one company is able to provide spare parts and repairs. So whatever Edacs quotes, Mumbai Police has to meet that price
• An upgradation of the entire control room will cost nearly Rs 100 crore, an expenditure the state is stalling

"Police stations are increasing; staff is increasing as is work. But the wireless exchange is still ill-equipped. 1080 posts are still lying vacant," said S Daima, Retired Superintendent of Police, Mumbai Control Room.

After the 26/11 terror attacks, the Ram Pradhan Committee Report had recommended modernisation of the control room. A proposal still stuck in red tape for three years now. Will the 13/7 scare revive this proposal?