Thiruvananthapuram: Implementation of the '112' common emergency number for all emergency services in the State is getting delayed owing to the delay in allotting funds.
Though the government earlier set a deadline of September 30, the funds for the project was allowed only recently. Now the government hopes to commission it at least by January.
Reducing the response time to distress calls and implementing a common emergency number for the entire nation is the broader aim of the project initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing is setting up the project. The estimated cost for the first phase implementation of the project in the state is Rs. 6 crore.
At present the state has over a dozen different numbers for various emergency services like police, fire force and ambulance. With the implementation of the 112 common emergency number, all the emergency services could be accessed through this single number.
The 112 number will be connected to the State Emergency Response Centre (SERC). It will be part of the National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), which is likely to be commissioned soon. SERCs in some other states are also ready for commission.
In the initial phase, emergency services of police, fire and rescue services and health department (ambulance) will be linked to the SERC in the state. The SERC will be set up at the state police headquarters.
District Emergency Response Centres will be also set up, initially in major cities. GPS tracking of vehicles and mobile data terminal for speedy transmission of messages are the highlights of the project.
Once the system is implemented, the calls made to 112 will reach the emergency response centre and based on the nature of service required it would be diverted to the emergency service concerned. Sources said that a fully automated response system was not possible as a major chunk of the calls received by the emergency services at present were not genuine emergency call. Hence a human interference for screening the calls is essential.
