Mumbai police website to get disabled-friendly

A new software will now allow the disabled access to information and services of the Mumbai police, with the city police upgarding their website.

Announcing the development on 'International Day of Persons with Disabilities', Mumbai Commissioner of Police Satyapal Singh said it was the first city police in the country to adopt such an initiative. The software will be functional in 10 days.

The initiative is supported by NASSCOM and a private firm, Barrier Break Technologies. Conforming to international web guidelines, the Mumbai police website will allow the visually impaired to use screen readers, while screen displays and videos will help the hearing impaired.

Stating that this is an important measure towards inclusion, Singh said, "Even we did not realise the problems of accessibility that a disabled might be facing when it comes to approaching the police. We were educated by experts on scenarios where they might need help, for which an interactive website can assist."

The primary focus will be to adopt a platform to help the disabled in understanding their region and police jurisdiction. "We can also update them on a regular basis on our initiatives," he added.

Meanwhile, in another initiative, the Mumbai police have begun 'Mission Mritunjay', a social exercise to reach out to the youth. "Projects like CCTV will take time. We are looking to involve the city's youth to become our eyes and ears and help us fight terror together," he added. The exercise saw 187 police officials go to 149 schools and colleges, where they addressed 1.2 lakh youth on alertness and awareness of security issues.

"We focused on four aspects. We told the youth not to fall prey to superstitions and religious rumours. Youth who live around octroi or access points in the city can help us with information on any contraband that reaches the city. Today, if illegal electronic appliances can reach the city through various channels, it means that anyone can import weapons, too. We can use help from all quarters in expanding our information base," he said.

'Laziness cost lives'

Coming down heavily on delays in informing police and "laziness", Satyapal Singh, who was earlier Commissioner of Police, Pune, used case studies like the February 2010 German bakery blast to educate the youth on concepts like "remaining alert is our religion". Narrating the sequence that led to the blast, he added that the police had forewarned the management thrice through letters of the threat perception due to their foreign clientele. "The bag remained in the bakery for 86 minutes without anyone active on it. The waiter informed the manager that there is an unclaimed bag 20 minutes before it exploded, with no one informing the police. That is laziness and it cost lives."

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