Bhubaneswar: Commissionerate police conducted a review on Monday to assess the response time of police control room (PCR) vans, following chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s directive to intensify patrolling in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Additional commissioner of police Uma Shankar Dash carried out a surprise check to evaluate the PCR vans’ efficiency. During the exercise, some vans reached a dummy crime scene within 10 minutes. “We briefed the PCR van personnel to further improve their response time during emergencies,” Dash said.
Dash added that the city police aim to enhance street visibility through round-the-clock patrolling with emergency response support system (ERSS) vehicles. ERSS, launched by the Centre in 2019 after the Nirbhaya case in Delhi, is designed to ensure a swift police response, particularly for women in emergencies. Odisha integrated ERSS on Mar 19, 2021, combining emergency numbers for police (100), fire (101), and ambulance services (108 and 102).
Last month, the chief minister launched 30 new ERSS vehicles for commissionerate police. Of these vehicles, 22 were allocated to Bhubaneswar and 8 to Cuttack, bringing the total ERSS fleet to 44 and 31 vehicles in the twin cities, respectively.