Unaware of 112, people still dial 100 for police help

Gagandeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 6

Even as the new emergency number 112 is available for seeking police help, a majority of residents in the district are still unaware of the new number, which was launched by the Punjab Police on trial basis two days ago.

Residents are only aware of the police control room number — 100. The Bathinda police control room today received as many as 500 calls on this number.

According to police officials, close to 60 per cent were blank calls. Many people asked about various officers and their contact numbers.

Police action was needed in only two per cent calls. Incidentally, the newly launched number 112 is not working properly. The Bathinda Tribune team dialed this number twice. Initially, the call was not answered while the next call was picked, but no one said anything from the other side. The previous number, 100, was still working.

New toll-free primary emergency helpline number 112 has been introduced as the old number 100 is being phased out in the state as part of the National Emergency Response System (NERS) project.

All other emergency numbers like 100 for police, 101 for fire brigade and 102 for ambulance will be replaced by the common number.

Designed on the lines of 911 in the USA, the NERS was conceptualised in the aftermath of Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi in 2012.

Tarsem Singh, a local resident and social worker, said it was a good step as all emergency services would be available on a single number.

IGP GS Dhillon, who is heading the project, said the common emergency number 112 is under trial in Punjab and people could dial this number instead of 100 for police help.

He said the police were also using social media to sensitise people to the new number.