Ahmedabad: Festive celebrations brought a sharp rise in emergencies handled by EMRI 108 in Gujarat. New Year saw the largest overall increase, at almost 26%, followed by Bhai Bij at 14%. Road accidents and trauma cases drove the surge, while burn injuries rose sharply on Diwali. Several districts recorded increases of 25% or more.The service handled 5,934 emergencies on Diwali, 6,595 on New Year and 5,984 on Bhai Bij, compared with a daily average of 5,248 on normal days.“Road accident-related emergencies rose 87.62% on Diwali, to 1,212 from the usual 646. The number increased to 1,541 on New Year, a 138.54% rise, and 1,032 on Bhai Bij, up 59.75%,” stated an EMRI press release.Non-vehicular trauma cases rose 75.3% on Diwali, with 1,043 emergencies against the normal average of 595. The figure stood at 938 on New Year, up 57.7%, and 724 on Bhai Bij, a 21.7% increase, it revealed.
EMRI 108 Diwali graphic
Among the major cities, Surat recorded the highest rise on Diwali at 10.9%, followed by Rajkot at 6.8%. On New Year, Vadodara led with a 25.7% increase, followed by Rajkot at 21.7% and Ahmedabad at 13.5%. On Bhai Bij, Rajkot recorded the highest rise at 14.6%, followed by Vadodara at 9.6% and Ahmedabad at 7.9%, according to EMRI data.Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Dahod, Devbhumi Dwarka, Mehsana, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Sabarkantha, Dang and Valsad each recorded a rise of at least 25%.Burn injuries also spiked. EMRI recorded 62 burn-related emergencies on Diwali against a normal average of 11, and 26 on New Year. Ahmedabad reported the highest number on Diwali at 13, followed by Surat at 12, and Rajkot and Kutch at five each. Ahmedabad recorded the highest number on New Year at 10.On Bhai Bij, EMRI handled 21 burn-related emergencies, including five in Ahmedabad, three in Surat and two in Rajkot.
