With dried-up batteries, Hoysala cruisers ineffective in responding to emergencies

Hoysala vehicles, supposed to be the first in the crime spot, often arrive late, thanks to the 'low battery' issue.

"Wait... let me charge the car battery and then we'll reach the spot in 10 minutes," a Hoysala staff rushing to the crime spot barked into the phone as the control room alerted him of the situation.

On July 2, 2016, the Bengaluru city police introduced 272 Hoysala vehicles, including 101 pink Hoysala, with Maruti Suzuki Ertiga that replaced Mahindra Bolero.

A majority of these vehicles could be seen coming to a grinding halt when they should actually be speeding towards the crime spot.

The police had splurged Rs 40 crore in revamping the 'Dial 100' instant response service, including the purchase of the Hoysala vehicles. They annually spend an additional Rs 7 crore engaging outsourcing staff to attend calls and Rs 2 crore to fuel the Hoysala vehicles.

Budget constraints mean the police can only provide 100 litres of fuel for the vehicles and the police have to foot the bill in case the fuel use goes over the limit.

"We've complained about the dying car batteries, but the department has not given the new batteries. This is the problem with most vehicles," said an official on the Hoysala service.

Another police official said Ertiga vehicles are not meant for rugged use. "Since we operate the car inside the city, it guzzles plenty of fuel. It breaks down most of the time as we cruise to the crime spot in the midnight. We then have to call up the station for backup and charge the Hoysala car before getting to the spot," he added.

The city police top brass have instructed Hoysala to keep the siren turned on from 6 pm to 6 am, while also asking them to keep the tablets and wireless equipment inside the vehicles on round-the-clock to immediately respond to 'Dial 100'' calls. Such bells and whistles obviously drain the battery faster.

City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar admitted to DH about the frequent breakdown of the Hoysala vehicles. "I've instructed the DCPs and ACPs to fix new batteries in the Hoysala vehicles and address other issues," he added.