And you are still awake?

Yes, of course. May I help you?
Oh, no. I just wanted to check how the new helplines are working. Thank you.

Just another midnight call to the helplines launched at Lalbazar three days ago.

Ever since chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee inaugurated the lines ? one for medical assistance, the other for aged Calcuttans ? the cops have attended a deluge of such calls. Instead of seeking help, almost all the callers have shown interest in finding out whether the numbers are operational and how the cops interact with them.

?The calls started immediately after the inauguration. However, till date, only one of the hundreds of callers has sought help from us. The rest were only checking whether we were taking the calls or not,? stated an officer at the Lalbazar control room.

He added: ?On the day of the inauguration, the chief minister asked us to give him a feedback on the number of calls received and the requirements of the callers. So far, we have nothing to report.?

The only call seeking help came from a Behala resident. ?He had a simple inquiry. He wanted the telephone number of a hospital. We provided the number,? recounted the officer.

Two policemen have been deployed in the control room to take the calls. ?The lines are open 24 hours. The officers have the telephone numbers of government and private hospitals and blood banks. We also have the numbers of the ambulance services,? explained another officer.

Elaborating on the calls, the officer said: ?Most of the calls come after 10 pm. The callers are telephoning out of curiosity. Apart from finding out whether the lines are working or not, some of the callers wanted to check how we behave with them late at night.?

Addressing queries of people from the distant districts has also proved a stumbling block. ?They have no idea about the jurisdiction of the state and Calcutta Police. We are providing them the number of director-general?s control room,? said an officer.

Anuj Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (headquarters), expressed the hope that with time, more people in need will utilise the helplines.

Those attending the calls said: ?All the callers have expressed satisfaction after speaking with us. We listen to their inquiries patiently. A number of them said that they had no idea police could be so polite.?