108 Ambulance still getting fake calls

Solan, September 11

One of the 15 calls received by the 108 EMRI emergency ambulance service is fake where the callers either make silent calls or use abusive language. As many as 70 such numbers have been identified from April to July this year.

These calls, say EMRI managers, clog lines for those who are needy. Though the percentage of unanswered calls has come down as compared to the previous years, a lot needs to be done to check such hoax callers, said the EMRI staff. “Every call received by 108 and 102 emergency service is responded as emergency call. Operators are trained to collect information such as kind of injury, place of accident or address of the victim and symptoms from callers in less than 90 seconds,” they said. Many sought breaking news or weather forecast. — TNS