Save these before you leave the airport. They work off any local mobile number: Police: 100. Ambulance: 102. Women’s Helpline: 1091. Tourist Helpline: 1363. Fire: 101.
Police — if you need to file a complaint, you can visit the nearest police station or file an e-FIR online for non-emergency situations. Interactions with the police can be slow and bureaucratic, like wading through treacle in a government office. Stay patient, stay polite, and if you feel you’re not being taken seriously, ask to speak to the SHO (Station House Officer). Going to your embassy might seem tiresome, but it may be the quickest route if things get complicated.
A side-note: Delhi Police comprises 95,000 personnel tending to a city of 30 million on a budget of $1.35 billion. Compare that with the NYPD’s 50,000 officers for 8.5 million people and a budget of $5.5 billion. The maths alone earns a measure of patience.
Hospitals — for anything beyond a pharmacy fix, Delhi has excellent private hospitals: Apollo, Max Healthcare, Medanta, and Fortis. They’re modern, English-speaking, and most accept international insurance. Government hospitals like AIIMS and Safdarjung are world-class in expertise but chaotic in experience. For a tourist, private is the simpler route.
