The Hindu Business Line : EMRI service in AP to be charged from July 1

The Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI), which runs the `108' service, is contemplating nominal charges for those who can pay, from July 1, 2006, to raise funds for efficient running of its operations.

At a news conference today, the Chief Executive Officer of EMRI, Mr Venkat Changavalli, said the charges could be between Rs 300 and Rs 500. A number of people can easily pay this amount, he said.

Since its launch on August 15, 2005, EMRI has expanded to 25 centres in Andhra Pradesh. Its emergency relief operations have led to saving 2,200 lives, Mr Changavalli said.

Its call centres have received 1.2 million calls so far, of which 35,000 were emergency in nature. Almost 84 per cent of these calls were attended to.

EMRI, which was started with an initial support of Rs 34 crore by the Raju brothers of the Satyam Group, aims to reach 50 towns in Andhra Pradesh by the end of June this year.

In the last seven months, it has added 40 ambulances taking the total to 70, said Mr Changavalli. Set to cover two crore people by June 2006, EMRI is exploring the possibility of floating a district

EMS society model, which could source some funds from the State Government to reach the entire population of the State, the CEO said.

"We have not yet broached the subject with the State Government formally. However, we are talking to the District Collectors to reach the emergency services to more people," Mr Changavalli said in response to queries.

The EMRI is thinking of the franchisee model to offer the service outside the State. At present, the company has trained 500 graduates to offer services. Emergencies from road accidents to heart attacks to burns to blasts are handled by the `108' service.

EMRI is facing a tough time with a majority of the calls being frivolous in nature. In Hyderabad, for instance, only 2-3 per cent of the calls received are real emergency cases.

Of the 8,000-10,000 calls, only 250 are genuine. The company is seeking technological help to sort out this problem.

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