Bengaluru City Police armed with drones, chatbots, social media to combat Covid-19 crisis
The Bengaluru City Police (BCP) department has armed itself with drones, WhatsApp chatbot, dashboard, helpline numbers and social media to arrest the spread of Covid-19.
The BCP uses drones fitted with cameras to monitor the movement of the people and take stock of the things happening on ground.
“We have drones for movement tracing. Also the drones have inbuilt speakers which helps in announcements of important information. We have so far disseminated information at several places and it has proved to be useful,” informs Isha Pant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Command Center), Bengaluru City Police.
The BCP has created a WhatsApp chatbot accessible at the number 8277946000, which pulls out all the information related to Covid-19 as and when questions are posed to it.
“We have a WhatsApp chatbot, where we have included health and wellness which helps people fight depression, anxiety or stress. We have realised that people are facing mental turmoil due to this unprecedented situation,” shares Pant.
Also the BCP has a Covid-19 dashboard which provides important information like the number of people infected, recovered, death and updates on the new number of infected. It provides information on quarantine centres, myth busters, travel advice, FAQs and information on things to do while at home.
On the social media front, the BCP Twitter handle, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram is all active for information generation to curb the spread and scare of corona virus. Also, it provides significant updates on prohibitory orders as to which entry/exit points are closed in and around the city, vehicle seizure, etc.
CCTV cameras are also put into use to check vehicle and pedestrian movement on the roads.
Earlier, in a digital initiative, the Karnataka State Police (KSP) in collaboration with MyGate has facilitated an online generation of ePass system for people who need to go out for medical stores, grocery stores, hospitals or for availing other necessary services, during the lockdown.
