Hyderabad: The Telangana government will be setting up a 24x7 help desk in Hyderabad with a toll-free 181 number to attend calls of women in distress and help them.
The help desk services will be extended to other districts in a phased manner.
The government has also decided to strengthen the IT Act to prevent harassment of women on mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks and study possible curbs on social media, besides porn websites.
The Telangana government will be taking stringent action against eve teasers and others harassing women in buses, bus stops and other public places.
The police has come across a large number of eve teasing cases in Koti, Mehdipatnam and the Secunderabad Railway Station besides other places and Chief Minister Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao has asked authorities to install surveillance cameras at these areas and elsewhere.
The CM took these decisions at a meeting with members of the Women’s Safety Committee headed by Ms Poonam Malakondaiah.
The committee submitted its report to the government on various issues pertaining to harassment of women and measures to ensure their safety including of those working in night shifts in IT and other establishments in the city and state.
Besides the committee members, Chief Secretary Dr Rajiv Sharma, State Election Chief Mr Raymond Peter, DGP Mr Anurag Sharma, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Mr Mahender Reddy, Cyberabad Police Commissioner Mr C.V. Anand and Mahabubnagar MP Mr A. Jitender Reddy, attended the meeting.
The women’s committee updated the chief minister about eve teasing, harassment of girls and women in buses, bus stops and other public places by anti social elements.
Officials told the CM that special teams had been constituted to check eve teasing and harassment. Many eve teasers have been identified, apprehended, photographed with finger prints, counseled and letters have been sent to their parents and managements of educational institutions to further counsel them, the officials informed.
Mr Rao expressed anguish over harassment of women in buses and asked RTC authorities to ensure that women and men were segregated while getting on and off buses. He also asked officials to publicise the need to honour women.
The Chief Ministers M also asked the police to keep a tab on auto rickshaws and taxis by maintaining details of the owners and drivers with photographs.
The Telangana government has also decided to ensure 33 per cent reservations for women in police recruitments and set up fast track courts in districts.
During the meeting, KCR also pushed for “She” autos and taxis in Hyderabad and other towns, ensure 50 per cent subsidy for women plying these autos and taxis, crackdown on female infanticide, illicit liquor dens, protection to women in rescue home, hike in maintenance of Rs 750 for women in rescue homes, ensuring equal wages to women along with men, and action against erring institutions.
