Team Herald
PANJIM: India’s single emergency number ‘112’, launched pan-India in January to help people reach the police, ambulance and fire services, has become a major cause of concern for Goa Police as an increase in accidentally-triggered phone calls is blocking the service for genuine users. The department has reached out to the State government for help.
“Due to the inception of Dial-112 as an emergency response system, the unintentional/accidentally triggered calls have increased manifold. This is depriving genuine help seekers calling on helpline Dial-100 installed at State Police Control Room,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Rupinder Kumar told the media in a bid to create awareness among people to ‘be cautious and careful while using the panic button’.
The panic button system, which is available on all mobile phones from January 1 under the law, enables users to make emergency call or send alerts to multiple numbers just by pressing a button. Kumar said the distress call facility fed in the gadgets is repeatedly dialed without the concerned mobile phone owners knowing about it. “They are not aware that the emergency number is dialed from their handset. When we call them back, the mobile phone users feign ignorance about calling the emergency number. In many cases, the number is dialed when a person is riding or children playing with the phones,” he said adding the unnecessary calls block other calls.
The officer claims to be receiving 10,000 to 25,000 ‘unnecessary’ calls a day ever since its launch in Goa. SP Umesh Gaonkar revealed that tourists too should be careful while using the emergency number.
To overcome the problem, the SPCR has increased the phone lines from the existing seven to 30 on a temporary basis. Similarly, the police strength has also been increased to 15 to attend to calls.
“We have to ensure that help seekers get timely assistance. But this is not the solution unless there is awareness among the general public regarding the pressing of panic button in an emergency response system,” Kumar added.
Chief Secretary Darmendra Sharma is handling the issue even as the Centre has been informed about the crisis.
Last year the Central government had approved the provision of a single number for various emergency services that would be similar to the ‘911’ all-in-one emergency service in the US. A person in distress will need to call only 112, which will direct the call to the concerned departments immediately for help. All existing emergency numbers such as 100 (police), 101 (fire), etc will be phased out depending upon the awareness about the facility.
