Steering committee to ensure women safety in eight metro cities

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

To kick start the process of formulating comprehensive safe city plans for women in eight metropolitan cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,  Bengaluru, Lucknow, Hyderderabad and Ahmedabad, Union Home Secretary convened a meeting of steering committee, which was constituted by ministry of home affairs on October 31, 2017, today. The meeting was attended by Municipal Commissioners,  Police Commissioners, senior State Government officials and Civil Society representatives.

During the meeting, the Home Secretary review of the progress made and steps taken by the police and civil administration of these eight metropolitan cities regarding women’s safety. Various issues reviewed included 33% reservation of women in police, installation of CCTV cameras, deployment of women in police stations, emergency response system, police verified public transport, prevention of cyber-crime, infrastructure issues, mapping of dark spots & crime-prone areas and involvement of educational institutions, among others. The initiatives taken by these cities for women’s safety were also discussed in detail. These initiatives include Himmat App, All Women Patrol Van, Shishtachar programme of Delhi police; SHE teams, Hawkeye Mobile App & Bharosa programme of Hyderabad police; Suraksha App of Bengaluru police and Power Angels of UP police. The steps taken by other metro cities including mobile counselling vans for hearing the grievances of women, lighting in the sub-urban railway station areas, complaint boxes in the colleges, dedicated helpline for women, awareness programmes organised by the police, setting up of shelter homes for women and making provisions for street lighting were also discussed.

During the meeting, it was brought to the notice that police representatives are taking steps in the direction of implementing the target of 33% reservation of women in police and gradually moving towards the set target. It was informed that more than one lakh women are using Himmat App, which has been made bilingual by Delhi Police. The use of social media platforms for women’s safety was also emphasised during the meeting. The representatives also discussed various measures which can reduce the response time and thus ensure better results. The setting up of norms for standardisation of luminosity for CCTV cameras was also discussed by the participants.

The Home Secretary said that independent analysis and feedback system should be institutionalised to assess the perception of women on ground regarding their safety issues. Their feedback and suggestions on various issues can also be incorporated after independent survey and our approach to women’s safety can thus be fine tuned. Shri Rajiv Gauba emphasised on ‘targeted intervention’ by the police and civil administration, which will have larger impact on women’s safety.