Gandhinagar: Gujarat has doubled the number of vehicles deployed under its 112 emergency response system, with Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi flagging off 500 new advanced ‘Janrakshak’ vehicles in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
The expansion takes the total number of Janrakshak vehicles available across the state round-the-clock to 1,000, as the government seeks to further reduce the time taken by police to reach people in distress.
The expansion of the fleet comes as the state’s average police response time has fallen to 10 minutes and 49 seconds, from 27 minutes, following the use of a 150-seat emergency call centre, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) technology and caller-location systems.
The government has set a target of bringing the response time below eight minutes through the deployment of additional vehicles and further use of technology.
The Janrakshak project has handled more than 11.04 lakh integrated emergency service requests during its first 11 months, including more than 6.74 lakh police emergency incidents in which immediate assistance was provided, according to the Gujarat Police.
The 112 system brings multiple emergency services together on a single platform, including police, ambulance, fire services, the women’s helpline, child helpline, disaster response and traffic-related assistance.
The 112 panic button has also been integrated into Ola, Uber, Rapido and Bharat Taxi applications, enabling users of these services to seek emergency assistance.
A new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is also being used to ensure that police jurisdictional boundaries do not delay emergency assistance.
Under the system, the nearest available Police Control Room vehicle can be sent to the incident location regardless of jurisdiction.
Minister of State, Kamlesh Patel, said the state had consistently worked towards ensuring peace, prosperity and security and that the Gujarat Police remained committed to public safety.
“The 112 emergency service would provide faster and more effective assistance so that police help could reach citizens as quickly as possible,” he said.
The new Janrakshak vehicles are designed for round-the-clock emergency operations and are equipped with facilities including Mobile Data Terminals for receiving real-time information, GPS-based vehicle tracking, emergency light bars and sirens, public-address systems, fire extinguishers, first-aid kits and search lights.
Personnel deployed in the vehicles are also provided with body cameras, helmets and protective equipment, while dashboard cameras are installed in the vehicles.
The expansion follows the launch of Gujarat’s Dial 112 Janrakshak emergency response framework in 2025, when dedicated vehicles and a centralised emergency response infrastructure were introduced to bring multiple emergency services under a unified system.
(IANS)
