Drives organized by the BMTC in collaboration with the Bengaluru police have failed to create awareness about the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), launched two years ago.
ERSS is a single emergency number (112) to address emergencies of citizens through the help of police, ambulance, fire and rescue services.
Tejaswini, a daily commuter, said she never sees any stickers promoting 112 in the buses she travels in. She was clueless about the ERSS helpline.
Another traveller, Swetha Muthukumar, said she has noticed these posters but is unsure about what they are about.
Bhawna B, who travels by bus, said the posters are for the helpline, adding that the number is to seek help in cases of robbery.
The Observer tried to reach BMTC officials multiple times, but they were unavailable to comment.
Suresh, assistant sub-inspector, Rajarajeshwari police station, said earlier the helpline number to call the police was 100. Now the government has come up with a single helpline number. This number is unified, which means it addresses problems related to health, fire and crime.
Earlier, when one dialled 100, only male officers used to go, but now a citizen can approach women police officers too.
“Whenever someone dials 112, the call is forwarded to the control room. The control room, either through a message or online, will notify the station that is close to the service requester’s location,” he explained.
Tukaram, a constable at the Kengeri police station, said the calls that they get through ERSS-112 are less than those they used to get via 100.
The Bengaluru police, along with BMTC, had organized drives, but nothing has changed. They pasted posters about the Namma 112 emergency helpline in buses.
M. Nageshwar, a bus conductor, said a drive was conducted in early October to inform people about the 112 number. Many BMTC officials participated in the drive.
The Centre government decided to launch this system as after 2012 gang-rape case in Delhi. The Justice Verma Committee recommended the implementation of a pan-India single emergency number that would address all distress calls.
