Maharashtra government to roll out 'Dial 112' project soon to improve police response time

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will soon launch 'Dial 112' project across the state, which will enable the police to reach out to the complainants quickly in case of an emergency, a minister said on Saturday.

MoS Home and IT Satej Patil said in a statement that this technology-driven project will ensure that the police response time improves to 10 minutes in urban areas and 15 minutes in rural areas. Under the project, there will be state-of-the-art control rooms at all 45 police commissionerates and district police offices across the state, he said.

"As many as 1,502 four-wheelers and 2,269 two-wheelers used by police will have a mobile data terminal and GPS system. Of them, 849 four-wheelers and 1,372 two-wheelers have already been installed with the system that is technically foolproof. The technology has enabled these vehicles to be ready in the service of the people round-the-clock," Patil said.

Tweeting about the project, he said, "We are training 15,000 police personnel and officers for use of this technology. 'Dial 112', powered with the high-end technology, will enable people to contact police and other emergency agencies by using mobile applications, SMS service, e-mail or through chat. Once rolled out, the project will help the police in responding in 10 minutes in urban areas and in 15 minutes in rural areas."

Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar recently chaired a meeting at the Mantralaya (state secretariat) in Mumbai to review the progress of the project. Apart from Satej Patil, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil and key officials of various departments attended the meeting.

Patil said that the project will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray soon, but before that, there a test and safety audit of the project will be conducted next month. The project will enable us to make Maharashtra safer for the people of the state, he added.