The GVK EMRI 108 Emergency Service team here on Monday stated that it is in a state of “necessary operational preparedness” to deal with the sudden spurt in the number of emergencies on New Year’s Eve and Day.

A statement from GVK EMRI said with the celebration mood associated with people’s desire to ring in the New Year with adventure and enjoyment, there is a sudden spurt in emergency calls that could rise to around 30 to 40 per cent of the current average of 1,485 calls per day in the state.

The company also identified emergency-prone areas in the state like Kamrup, Karimganj, Lakhimpur, Barpeta, Darrang, Dibrugarh districts labelled as high assault case-prone sensitive areas.

The national highway stretch, including spots in Kamrup, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Goalpara, Cachar and Karimganj districts are earmarked as accident-prone areas.

Picnickers also report many emergencies and the 108 team requested them “to maintain certain precautions to make sure that their enjoyment is not diluted by unnecessary emergencies involving themselves or their families/friends spoiling the whole celebrations”.

About its preparedness, the team said increase in manpower in Emergency Response Centre based on the projected call flow, has already been initiated while teams are being trained to cope with the heavy load of follow up calls and corresponding co-ordination with operations team of police and fire service.

Dynamic placement of ambulances has been planned near major emergency-prone areas to reach faster.

In case the emergency team takes more than 15 minutes to reach, the caller will be informed about time to reach and obstacles faced, if any. Ambulances will be kept on maximum alert, the statement said.

The 108 team has already informed police and hospital authorities about various support functions required during these days.

The team appealed to all to set their own do’s and don’ts in order to avoid avoidable emergencies like road accidents and food poisoning, asking for patience and alertness.

People were also requested to treat 108 staff as fellow friends and to cooperate with them, appreciating the fact that they serve even during the festive season.