New Delhi: Public panic buttons and all-women police patrol teams will soon be launched in eight major cities, including Delhi, under a special women safety programme for which the home ministry has approved nearly Rs 3,000 crore.
Transit dormitories for women and children, smart LED streetlights, one-stop crisis centres, and forensic and cyber crime cells will be part of the Women Safe City Project.
It will implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow from 2018-19 to 2020-21, a senior home ministry official said. Safe city proposals amounting to Rs 2,919.55 crore were approved under the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ recently. The fund’ was set up in 2013 for implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing safety and security for women.
The non-lapsable corpus fund was instituted following the gangrape of a girl in Delhi in 2012 which triggered nationwide outrage and protests. Rs 663.67 crore has been earmarked for Delhi, Rs 252 crore for Mumbai, Rs 425.06 crore for Chennai, Rs 253 crore for Ahmedabad, Rs 181.32 crore for Kolkata, Rs 667 crore for Bengaluru, '282.50 crore for Hyderabad and Rs 195 crore for Lucknow, the official said. The project takes a comprehensive view of women safety, with the states adopting a mix of solutions based on their requirements.
It envisages deployment of all-women patrol teams such as SHE-teams and well-equipped emergency response vehicles called ‘Abhayam’ vans to ensure quick and effective response system.
The proposed infrastructure includes development of safe zone clusters in hot crime zones, smart LED street lighting, CCTV cameras connected to modern command and control centres, security enablers in public transport, installation of public panic buttons, provision of toilets for women within safe eco-systems and transit dormitories for women and children.
