[ Nellie N Manpoong ]
ITANAGAR, Dec 4: In an effort to bring transparency in its workings, the state government has been pressing for digitalisation of all government establishments for long now.
However, several government websites lack information and updates on the current situation at hand and the public remains in the dark about most new developments and data allowed to be in the public domain.
One such website is the Arunachal Pradesh Police website, www.arunpol. gov.in, which has limited information on its activities, including the crime statistics of the state.
According to the one-page crime statistics available on the Arunachal Pradesh Police website, there have been a total of 2700 crimes in the state in 2016. East Siang district reported the largest number of crimes with 259 cases, which include 56 cases of theft, 14 cases of rape (second after Papum Pare urban) and several other forms of criminal activity.
Apart from the 2016 statistics, the website is devoid of any other data on crimes committed over the years.
The website does offer information on wanted criminals and criminals who have rewards on their heads, besides several new recruitment notices and some flashing updates marked ‘New’, but from 2015.
Last updated on April 30, 2017, the website is also difficult to access through mobile devices.
Speaking to this daily, Director General of Police, Sandeep Goel said that the website does need to be properly updated, and informed that the department is working on giving a new look to the website within a month or two and making it user friendly.
“We will incorporate all the previous years’ statistics in the updated website,” he said.
If the government attempts to make digitalisation of government offices a working reality, while also maintaining an appeal for the masses, it has to seek out website developers who can keep up with the times and offer better services.
