Emergency? Call 112 for help now

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 7

Punjab residents need to call 112 now for seeking help in case of emergency from the police, Fire Department or ambulance service. The current helpline numbers, 100 for the police, 101 for the Fire Brigade and 108 for ambulance service, are being phased out.

The number is introduced as per the Centre government’s project for having 112 as the centralised emergency number for all purposes under the Nationwide Emergency Response System (NERS).

A trial run of using 112 is currently on and more than 70 per cent of the state has already been covered.

HS Dhillon, DGP (Law and Order), said the 112 service was functional but for the time being other numbers would also work. “The 112 number will be accessible from all landline and mobile phone numbers. The functional mapping of the number has been done.”

The Home Department had earlier this year started the project and directed all states to introduce the 112 service in their states by January 1, 2018.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is providing the necessary technical support for the project. The national telecom provider — Bharat Sanchar Nagam Limited — is the key agency for the implementation of the 112 service as it has been launched through its network.

Giving further details, Dhillon, who is the nodal officer in the state for the implementation of the project, said the 112 number service would be similar to the USA’s 911 service for all emergencies.

He also held a meeting with officials from BSNL and the C-DAC today to assess the implementation work. He said when a caller would dial 112, the operator would direct the department concerned for catering to the caller’s emergency.

For this purpose, a centralised helpline centre was being set up at Mohali, which would have 60 operators at any given time to attend to the emergency calls. The Centre was being set up in the NRI wing building, he said.