Woman calling a helpline number (Tejas Kudtarkar)

A couple of months ago, I was being stalked by a guy in my neighbourhood. One evening, he came outside my door and started ringing the bell. All I could do is dial 100, but no one picked up the call. That’s when I called the cyber-crime cell — a number I got from the internet — but was told that only the local police station could come to my rescue and for that, I had to go to go there and lodge a complaint. The cop on the other end said, “Madam, hum kuch nahin kar sakte. Aapko police station aana hi padega’. Imagine my frustration. I wish we had a 911-kind of number,” says 30-year-old media professional Mugdha Banerjee (name changed on request).

In times like this, one really can’t help but think about the advantage of having an emergency number like 911 and 999, that exist in US and UK respectively. Subi Rao, who studied in the US for the past five years, is all praise for the security system there. “No matter what emergency I run into, even if my dog goes missing, I just have to dial 911 and the nearest cop, fire brigade or ambulance would be at my doorstep in less than 90 seconds,” she says.

However, we can finally heave a sigh of relief. Instead of trying to source numbers from different mediums, including supposed emergency numbers scribbled on walls or inside local train compartments, we will now have a single emergency contact. While the number is already active in some states, it is set to come to Maharashtra’s aid soon.

The inter-ministerial telecom commission has given a go-ahead to make 112 the national emergency number. This will lead to the gradual phasing out of existing emergency numbers like 100 (police), 101 (fire services), 102 (ambulance) and 108 (disaster management), though, according to official records, they will continue to be functional for another year.

A one-stop solution point

Says a state government official on conditions of anonymity, “Prior to this, people were confused and wracked with major concerns like which number to dial, whether they will get the assistance that they are looking for and whether at all the numbers would get connected to the right department. But they don’t have to worry now. By dialing 112, they will get connected to either of the departments — cop, fire brigade, ambulance and disaster management. Every concern will be registered and addressed.”

This is what Mumbaikars have to say...

Possibility of lines getting jammed

According to homemaker Vandana Acharya, there is a high possibility of routes to this single number getting jammed. She says, “The way our mobile service providers operate, there is a very high possibility that the call may just not go through when required. For this, each state government has to make sure that network situations improve and the call centre doesn’t keep you on hold when the line goes through.”

Adding to this, brand manager Parvathy Raja says, “While the initiative sounds good, the real test would be the actual response time that the callers will face at the other end. Having seen the government organisations’ turnaround time in Mumbai, I doubt it will actually help anyone.”

Number should be accessible from landline and mobile

Many Mumbaikars feel that there is a need to make 112 accessible from mobile phones as well as landlines. Pramila Saoba, 65, a resident of Wadala says, “I do not have a mobile phone, for the simple reason that I cannot understand how it is operated. So, a person like me would like to have access to the emergency number through a landline.”

Swift turnaround time

The emergency number should be able to provide help in 90 seconds, if not less. Vidisha Shah, a 34-year-old marketing professional, says, “The government should also consider the turnaround time for help for this number. It shouldn’t be that people call the helpline number expecting them to come to the rescue as soon as possible but the cops, fire brigade or the ambulance takes its own sweet time to make it to the emergency spot.”

Siddhartha Parmar, banker, adds, “I thought we were sorted with 100, 101, 102 and 108. I once saw a huge fire by the road near Charni Road station, stopped by and called 101 but no one answered for 20 minutes.”

Attendees of the helpline number should be trained to tackle any issues

Marketing professional Shobhan DebVerma feels cops, fire brigade and the ambulance people in any other country are trained to handle any situation. Similar to that, authorities here should also be able to tackle any kind of situation. He further adds, “Apart from the emergency guys, when we call the helpline, the call centre guys should also be able to understand the seriousness of the situation and be able to act accordingly.”

