Creating a nuisance : Prank callers clogging emergency phones

People even call for pizzas, food recipes or say that they just want to know the response time

PESHAWAR:

Whether out of sheer boredom or simply to get a kick out of it, fake and irrelevant callers clog the Rescue helpline in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), potentially hindering access to emergency services for those who might be in urgent need.

Despite a law and hefty fine in place to hinder the practice, over the last two years the first responder service received over 7.4 million fake and irrelevant calls. Officials of the Rescue 1122, indicating their disappointment towards the general public, said that over the years repeated attempts had been made to convey the message that such calls kept emergency lines busy and deprived others of access.

“However, the disappointing practice has still gone on,” a senior official said. According to the data obtained by The Express Tribune, the irrelevant or fake calls increased from roughly 3.2 million in 2020 to nearly 4.2 million in 2021. The data indicates that out of nearly 13 million emergency calls, actual emergencies accounted for less than half — with 55,752 calls for road accidents; 9,063 for fire incidents; 471 for building collapse; 225 for blasts and explosions.

A senior Rescue 1122 official, whilst requesting anonymity, informed that almost 56% of the total calls made during the last two years were either irrelevant or fake calls. “People often call us and ask if we can deliver pizza to their address,” the official said while shaking his head in disbelief. The official informed that those making irrelevant calls repeatedly were identified and their numbers were blocked for 24 hours.

“However, we cannot restrict them forever as they might be in a genuine emergency situation in the future.” Dr Khateer Ahamd, Director General Rescue 1122, while talking to The Express Tribune, said, “we have three emergency lines at every district and if you keep the lines busy by asking absurd things, you are risking someone’s life and property. This is serious and the general public must understand the severity of the issue.” Dr Ahmad informed that as per the law such calls could lead to imprisonment for up to six months and those found guilty could get a fine of Rs 100,000.

However, spokesperson for Rescue 1122, Bilal Faizi, explained that fake and irrelevant calls were two different things. “When we receive a call and upon reaching the spot we find that the number is switched off or the caller says I was just checking your response rate; this is what we term as a fake call,” he informed. Fiazi said that out of the total 56% irrelevant calls only 2% were fake calls. The irrelevant calls are still a major issue and were mostly made by kids and women, according to Faizi. “Sometimes women call and ask for food recipes or inquire whether we can run errands for them.

A few have called to ask whether we could check if the nearest beauty parlor was open? We chased a few of these callers and when we knocked at their doors, the family members refuted our claims but when we played the recording, they apologized,” Faizi told The Express Tribune.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2022.