Single emergency helpline launched in national capital

NEWDELHI: The next time you have a fire emergency and simultaneously need police and ambulance assistance, instead of calling three separate helpline numbers – 100 (police), 101 (fire), and 102 (ambulance) just dial “112”. The emergency response support system (ERSS-112) was launched in Delhi Wednesday by union minister of state for home affairs, G Kishan Reddy.

The helpline system which has been developed as a nationwide single emergency number for emergency services – police, fire, and ambulance – will gradually phase out the other three emergency helplines, said Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik.

With this, Delhi becomes the 19th state to have adopted ERSS112. Initially, it was launched in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and was further extended to 16 other states.

Patnaik said the implementation of the new system will help reduce the police response to any distress call. The new system also comes in the form of a mobile application as well. Apart from citizens who can volunteer to help the people in need by downloading the 112 mobile app, all police beat staff, and personnel deployed in patrol vans have also been directed to register themselves

on the app. In the new system, the call simultaneously passes to police control room as well as to at least nearby five volunteers. “In case of emergency, a person can dial 112 from phone or press power button thrice on smart phone quickly to activate a panic call to the Emergency Response Centre (ERC). The distress calls can also be made through e-mails and text messages,” said Patnaik.

Special commissioner of police (operations) Muktesh Chander said the 112 control room will receive all emergency calls. “If it is a fire emergency, the software will automatically transmit the call to the fire control room. Similarly, medical emergency calls will reach ambulance control room.”

Reddy also flagged off “Prakhar” vans fleet for patrolling.