Bhubaneswar: In a significant move aimed at enhancing the state’s emergency response mechanism, Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja and Director General of Police Yogesh Bahadur Khurania visited the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) centre located in Mancheswar on Monday. The senior officials reviewed the overall functionality, management, and modernization efforts underway at the Dial-112 facility.
During the visit, Chief Secretary Ahuja underscored the critical importance of delivering swift assistance to people in distress, noting that response time must be minimized to ensure effective support. To this end, he stressed the need to augment the system’s capacity by deploying adequate human resources, acquiring more emergency response vehicles, and outfitting these with the latest technological tools.
As part of the review, the Chief Secretary issued directives for integrating emergency vehicles operated by other key departments—such as Health, Fire Services, Women and Child Welfare, and Forest and Environment—with the Dial-112 system to build a more unified and responsive network. He also emphasized the need for timely and efficient utilization of funds allocated by the state government to upgrade ERSS infrastructure and services.
In a decisive step to bolster the system, Ahuja directed officials to immediately hire 409 emergency response vehicles on a contractual basis. He also called for these vehicles to be equipped with advanced technologies including Mobile Data Terminals, smartphones, and GPS tracking devices. Additionally, he instructed concerned departments to expedite the recruitment process for personnel required to operate and support ERSS functions.
The review meeting was chaired by Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) and ERSS Nodal Officer Pratik Mohanty. Senior representatives from various departments and agencies—including Health, Fire Services, Women and Child Welfare, Forest and Environment, Odisha Knowledge Corporation Limited (OKAC), and the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA)—participated in the review and discussed inter-departmental collaboration for strengthening the state’s emergency response ecosystem.
