Natl helpdesk starts on experimental basis
Dial 999 for emergencies
In an attempt to give the countrys citizens a one-stop service in times of need, the government yesterday launched the national helpdesk on an experimental basis. After multiple changes in short codes, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has finally set up a new three-digit short code, 999, to be used as the national helpdesk number. The number is toll-free. Any citizen can reach police, fire service and civil defence and ambulance services by dialling this number. Plus One, a private organisation, is facilitating the necessary IT services for the helpdesk under the guidance of the governments Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division.
The project to establish a unified helpdesk is being completed at a cost of Tk. 60.50 crore, said an official with the ICT Division. Earlier, during the closing ceremony of the recently finished Digital World, the website and the mobile app of the national helpdesk were unveiled by finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. Earlier, the telecom regulator allotted 2041 and 16666 as short codes for the helpdesk, but following the request of the state minister for ICT, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the second code was changed to a three-digit one. At present, dialling 100 would connect to Bangladesh police, 101 to Rapid Action Battalion, 102 to fire services, 103 to ambulance services and 104 to the Access to Information Programme under the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).
