Citizens in distress can get immediate assistance from police on dialling the helpline number in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and Pune
MUMBAI| On Friday, Maharashtra releases the single emergency helpline number 112, to connect people in distress with the police. This number is operational in five cities of Maharashtra officials said.
Officials said citizens in distress can get immediate assistance from police in the state on dialling the helpline number ‘112’ from their phones in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur and Pune.
The official also added, in the next phase, emergency services like police (100), fire (101), medical (108) and assistance to women in distress (1090) will be integrated with the 112 helpline number across the state.
He said, the single emergency response number has been activated in five cities and this service will be rolled out in different parts of the state in the near future. The official added, the work of connecting remaining cities of the state with this service is also going on.
The call made on the number goes to the Emergency Response Centre and from there it is directed to police authorities to assist the citizen in distress. In the future, other government agencies will also be integrated with the helpline number, the official said.
The response time of the call is expected to be around eight minutes, he said, adding the quality of the service will be improved gradually.
Officials said Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had reviewed the progress of this most ambitious project in February.
The official also said, the police department is purchasing 1,502 four-wheelers and 2,269 two-wheelers to respond to emergency calls in the time.
Similar to the US and many other developed countries, India had launched the service of single emergency helpline number ‘112’ in February 2019. Initially, 16 states and Union Territories had planned to roll out the service.
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