New Delhi, Feb. 19 (IANS): The much awaited safety tool for women, the Emergency Response Support System called ‘Panic Button’, was on Tuesday launched across 18 states.
The panic button will now enable women in distress to make emergency calls through a single number ‘112’ that will connect her to police, fire, health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre (ERC).
"I would urge everyone not to misuse the safety button. Unlike last time when we had conducted a trial in Delhi, more than 4 lakh calls were prank," Union Women and Child Development minister, Maneka Gandhi said on the sidelines of the launch.
The 18 states where the panic button is operational now are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, and Nagaland.
For enabling the safety tool, one needs to dial 112 from the phone and press power button on smartphones three times to connect to the ERC. For those who do not have a smart phone may long press ‘5 or ‘9’ key on the phone to activate the panic call.
For seamless service of the safety tool, the ERC will coordinate with District Coordination Centres deployed by respective states.
