App to be launched to help Karachi citizens in emergency situations

A mobile phone app, ‘Siren App – Emergency, Help, Safety and Rescue Alert’, will help the citizens in emergency situations. The app will be launched in collaboration with a technology company.

The app, according to a press statement from the Commissioner Office, will be linked to the Commissioner House’s helpline, Rescue 1299. Other emergency services of the city will also be linked with the app, the statement said.

The collaboration with the technology firm was commemorated through a brief contract signing ceremony held recently at the Commissioner Office. According to the agreement, Hysab Kytab will help enhance Rescue 1299 service.

Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani said due to the alarming situation of Karachi after the recent rainfall, an emergency platform like the mobile app was the need of the hour. The country head of the technology firm thanked the commissioner and recalled his experience in the United States where life could not be imagined without their emergency service 911.

Realising the gap that existed in Pakistan, he said the technology firm offered to develop a solution that utilised the state-of-the-art technology to help citizens in emergency situations.