<p><strong>Always busy</strong></p>.<p><em>102 Ambulance</em> </p>.<p>This is a common number across India for medical emergencies. Funded by the government, it provides free ambulance services. We made four calls between 3 pm and 4 pm on September 11. The line was always busy. We couldn’t get through at all.</p>.<p><strong> Error message</strong></p>.<p><em>102 National Emergency Helpline </em></p>.<p>An integrated emergency services pan-India number, this is said to be our equivalent of USA’s 911. The service is a total letdown. We called repeatedly and all we got was a message on the phone screen: ‘Server error. Try again later’.</p>.<p><strong>Dead number</strong></p>.<p><em>1090: Elders Helpline</em></p>.<p>A joint project of Bengaluru City Police and Nightingales Medical Trust, 1090 was set up in 2002 to help protect the elderly from being abused. When you call, you get a recorded response: ‘Dialled number does not exist.’</p>.<p><strong>Don’t even try</strong></p>.<p><em>1091: Women In Distress</em></p>.<p>The All-India helpline number is meant to help women. It was set up after the 2012 Nirbhaya case involving the brutal rape and murder of a physiotherapist in Delhi.</p>.<p>Metrolife kept trying the number. The response? ‘Dialled number does not exist. Please check the number you have dialled.’</p>.<h3>And here’s a hall of fame....</h3>.<p><strong>Well-staffed, efficient</strong></p>.<p><em>* 100 Police</em></p>.<p>Response time: 30 seconds</p>.<p>This is a 24×7 number that gets full marks for quick response.</p>.<p>We clocked 4.93 seconds before we were greeted by an automated message, first in Kannada, then in English. About 30 seconds later, a live voice spoke to us.</p>.<p>This police control room number receives between 2,000 and 3,000 calls a day, with the maximum calls coming at night.</p>.<p>The helpline works in three shifts, with 60 staffers in each shift.</p>.<p>Police personnel undergo training for two to three weeks before they are allowed to take emergency calls.</p>.<p>In the rainy season, the number gets calls from the BBMP for help in clearing roads after tree crashes.</p>.<p><strong>Many hoax calls</strong></p>.<p><em>101 Fire</em></p>.<p>Response time: 2 seconds<br />Our first call got cut after 15 seconds, but when we called the second time, the response was lightning quick (about a second).</p>.<p>Of 150-200 calls the number receives a day, only 10-15 are genuine. The rest are hoax calls.</p>.<p>Five or six staffers are on duty in shifts of eight hours each. They report fake calls to the police.</p>.<p>Helpline personnel are trained for between three days and a month at the R A Mundkur Fire & Emergency Services Academy near Bangalore Dairy.</p>.<p>Calls increase in summer, with many cases of grass catching fire being reported.</p>.<p><strong>200 calls a day</strong></p>.<p><em>* 1912 BESCOM</em></p>.<p>Response time: 1 min </p>.<p>It took one minute for our call to be picked. The helpline gets about 200 calls a day.</p>.<p>During the rainy season, the calls go up to 300. Staff are sometimes overwhelmed by back-to-back calls.</p>.<p>Sixty staffers work in three shifts. “We get calls about disrupted power supply, safety concerns, and fires and short circuits,” says Anushree, who works with the helpline.</p>.<p>Staff are trained for a week training on customer support before they start work. </p>.<p><strong>Twenty on duty</strong></p>.<p><em>1916 BWSSB</em></p>.<p>Response time: 1 min</p>.<p>Gets between 500 and 1,000 calls a day. Call centre strength is about 20. Calls are picked up almost immediately.</p>.<p>Assistant engineers train staff. Lohith, in charge of the BWSSB helpline, told Metrolife, “We get calls about disrupted water supply, leakage, new connections, sanitary-related complaints, manhole covers missing and obstruction of traffic because of dug-up roads to lay underground pipes.”</p>.<p>Call centre alerts the staff concerned. “We pass on complaint details to the assistant engineers of the area. The customer is updated on the status of the complaint.”</p>.<p>A complaint can take up to 48 hours to process. </p>.<p><strong>Tree crashes, blocks</strong></p>.<p><em>080-2297 5595 BBMP</em></p>.<p>Response time: One min<br />Gets about 100 calls a day. Subramanya, supervisor of the control room, says calls are about crashing trees, death of stray dogs, waterlogging, and obstructions on flyovers.</p>.<p>It works round the clock, with three staffers on duty on each eight-hour shift. “We train the staff on how to talk. We note down the complaints and locations and alert the official concerned,” Subramanya told Metrolife.</p>.<p><strong>Medical counselling</strong></p>.<p><em>1097 HIV/AIDS Helpline</em></p>.<p>Response time: 30 seconds. </p>.<p>Spread across four locations, and manned by 49 counsellors, this helpline provides HIV and AIDS information and counselling.</p>.<p>It gets 1,200 to 1,500 a day, with a significant increase in the wake of events that promote the helpline.</p>.<p>The counsellors go through a week of training before they are allowed to answer calls.</p>.<p>A typical call is three minutes long, with the duration increasing if the caller requires extended counselling.</p>.<p>The language choices are English, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil.</p>
<p><strong>Always busy</strong></p>.<p><em>102 Ambulance</em> </p>.<p>This is a common number across India for medical emergencies. Funded by the government, it provides free ambulance services. We made four calls between 3 pm and 4 pm on September 11. The line was always busy. We couldn’t get through at all.</p>.<p><strong> Error message</strong></p>.<p><em>102 National Emergency Helpline </em></p>.<p>An integrated emergency services pan-India number, this is said to be our equivalent of USA’s 911. The service is a total letdown. We called repeatedly and all we got was a message on the phone screen: ‘Server error. Try again later’.</p>.<p><strong>Dead number</strong></p>.<p><em>1090: Elders Helpline</em></p>.<p>A joint project of Bengaluru City Police and Nightingales Medical Trust, 1090 was set up in 2002 to help protect the elderly from being abused. When you call, you get a recorded response: ‘Dialled number does not exist.’</p>.<p><strong>Don’t even try</strong></p>.<p><em>1091: Women In Distress</em></p>.<p>The All-India helpline number is meant to help women. It was set up after the 2012 Nirbhaya case involving the brutal rape and murder of a physiotherapist in Delhi.</p>.<p>Metrolife kept trying the number. The response? ‘Dialled number does not exist. Please check the number you have dialled.’</p>.<h3>And here’s a hall of fame....</h3>.<p><strong>Well-staffed, efficient</strong></p>.<p><em>* 100 Police</em></p>.<p>Response time: 30 seconds</p>.<p>This is a 24×7 number that gets full marks for quick response.</p>.<p>We clocked 4.93 seconds before we were greeted by an automated message, first in Kannada, then in English. About 30 seconds later, a live voice spoke to us.</p>.<p>This police control room number receives between 2,000 and 3,000 calls a day, with the maximum calls coming at night.</p>.<p>The helpline works in three shifts, with 60 staffers in each shift.</p>.<p>Police personnel undergo training for two to three weeks before they are allowed to take emergency calls.</p>.<p>In the rainy season, the number gets calls from the BBMP for help in clearing roads after tree crashes.</p>.<p><strong>Many hoax calls</strong></p>.<p><em>101 Fire</em></p>.<p>Response time: 2 seconds<br />Our first call got cut after 15 seconds, but when we called the second time, the response was lightning quick (about a second).</p>.<p>Of 150-200 calls the number receives a day, only 10-15 are genuine. The rest are hoax calls.</p>.<p>Five or six staffers are on duty in shifts of eight hours each. They report fake calls to the police.</p>.<p>Helpline personnel are trained for between three days and a month at the R A Mundkur Fire & Emergency Services Academy near Bangalore Dairy.</p>.<p>Calls increase in summer, with many cases of grass catching fire being reported.</p>.<p><strong>200 calls a day</strong></p>.<p><em>* 1912 BESCOM</em></p>.<p>Response time: 1 min </p>.<p>It took one minute for our call to be picked. The helpline gets about 200 calls a day.</p>.<p>During the rainy season, the calls go up to 300. Staff are sometimes overwhelmed by back-to-back calls.</p>.<p>Sixty staffers work in three shifts. “We get calls about disrupted power supply, safety concerns, and fires and short circuits,” says Anushree, who works with the helpline.</p>.<p>Staff are trained for a week training on customer support before they start work. </p>.<p><strong>Twenty on duty</strong></p>.<p><em>1916 BWSSB</em></p>.<p>Response time: 1 min</p>.<p>Gets between 500 and 1,000 calls a day. Call centre strength is about 20. Calls are picked up almost immediately.</p>.<p>Assistant engineers train staff. Lohith, in charge of the BWSSB helpline, told Metrolife, “We get calls about disrupted water supply, leakage, new connections, sanitary-related complaints, manhole covers missing and obstruction of traffic because of dug-up roads to lay underground pipes.”</p>.<p>Call centre alerts the staff concerned. “We pass on complaint details to the assistant engineers of the area. The customer is updated on the status of the complaint.”</p>.<p>A complaint can take up to 48 hours to process. </p>.<p><strong>Tree crashes, blocks</strong></p>.<p><em>080-2297 5595 BBMP</em></p>.<p>Response time: One min<br />Gets about 100 calls a day. Subramanya, supervisor of the control room, says calls are about crashing trees, death of stray dogs, waterlogging, and obstructions on flyovers.</p>.<p>It works round the clock, with three staffers on duty on each eight-hour shift. “We train the staff on how to talk. We note down the complaints and locations and alert the official concerned,” Subramanya told Metrolife.</p>.<p><strong>Medical counselling</strong></p>.<p><em>1097 HIV/AIDS Helpline</em></p>.<p>Response time: 30 seconds. </p>.<p>Spread across four locations, and manned by 49 counsellors, this helpline provides HIV and AIDS information and counselling.</p>.<p>It gets 1,200 to 1,500 a day, with a significant increase in the wake of events that promote the helpline.</p>.<p>The counsellors go through a week of training before they are allowed to answer calls.</p>.<p>A typical call is three minutes long, with the duration increasing if the caller requires extended counselling.</p>.<p>The language choices are English, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil.</p>
