Emergency quota is released before few hours of scheduled departure of train. One has to put an application to Chief Commercial Manager of the particular railways (ER, SER etc) you want to travel (Koilaghat Office for Kolkata) stating the importance of your journey & requesting for release of emergency ticket. A recommendation by MLA, MP, Medical person on your application might carry little more weight. Unless you are ready to run from pillar to post, it is better not to try to get such ticket. The problem faced by you is not uncommon.
Tourists get little preference on this matter. If there is no tourist quota, one of the windows in the reservation hall may be allocated for tourist use. If you...
more... are in a town that does not have a tourist quota or a special window for tourists, you may have to see the Station Superintendent, the Deputy Superintendent, the Chief Reservation Supervisor, or the Station Master, depending on the station. This is usually the person in charge of the station. They can allocate a ticket to you from the tourist quota, emergency quota, or VIP quota. They may have you purchase a waiting list ticket for the train and then send you to someone else to give you the needed reservation.