‘Give me Rs 100 for liquor’: Odisha COVID helpline gets numerous prank calls [Watch]

Bhubaneswar: At a time when the Odisha Government has left no stone unturned to avoid the emergence of third COVID-19 wave, pranksters are resorting to hoax/indecent calls to the State COVID Helpline Number 104 affecting the helpline’s service.

Though 38 persons were earlier booked by the Saheed Nagar police over such offences, similar incidents continue unabated.

In one of the several prank calls, a person can be heard asking the call centre executive to give Rs 100 for consuming liquor. Other callers allegedly misbehaved with the executives/ doctors and kept the line busy without any COVID-related queries.

“Around 10 percent of the callers are abusive. Such calls result in wastage of precious time of the helpline, during which other genuine callers seeking help for themselves or their family members can be helped by our executives. I urge such persons to refrain from such acts,” the Team Head of the helpline said.

“Some callers manage to get their calls forwarded to the doctors for tele consultation on the pretext of COVID-symptoms. Later, they misbehave with the doctors too,” a doctor engaged at the helpline said.

Also read– Bizarre! Pranksters Flirt With COVID-19 Helpline Staff In Odisha.