THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Number '112' for all emergency services will be rolled out in the state soon. The government has set a deadline of September 30 for commissioning it. The project, which is part of the National Emergency Response Centre, aims at minimising the response time for emergency calls. The ministry of home affairs, which initiated the project, had prescribed various parameters like 15 seconds to attend calls and two minutes for identifying the location and dispatching emergency team.
The single number would be of much use to citizens as there are about 15 numbers for different types of emergencies in the state now. According to police sources, the State Emergency Response Centre is being set up on the police headquarters premises. Emergency response centres are also being set up in all districts, and the project will roll out in a phased manner, beginning with cities. "We have set Sept. 30 as the deadline for commissioning, and there would not be any lags as the project is under the direct supervision of a high-level committee headed by the chief secretary," a senior police officer said.
However, sources said that the funds for the project were yet to the sanctioned. It would cost around Rs 6 crore. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) is implementing the project across the country. The 112, which is an international emergency number followed by many countries, is already live on trial. The project is also in advanced stages of implementation in many states.
CDAC also developed a mobile app on the 112 emergency services. Police, fire and rescue services, ambulance, health and disaster management are among the key agencies to become part of the project. Apart from linking with the existing emergency services like police patrol teams, facilities like ambulance would also be attached to the emergency response centres, subject to availability. The GPS enabled facility would help the control room to identify the location of the caller automatically.
