'Safe-City' plan in 8 cities to ensure women's safety

Bengaluru and seven other cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, will chalk out a 'safe-city' plan for women to ensure robust emergency response system and introduce police-verified public transport.

This was decided at a review meeting called by the Union Home Minister, Rajiv Gauba, in which top state and civic officials attended.

During the review, Gauba examined the progress made by the eight metropolitan cities in the country -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Hyderabad.

"It was decided that the police and the municipal corporations of these eight cities will frame a plan of action. The plan will be forwarded by the respective state-level committee headed by State Chief Secretary. The plan of action to be submitted by these cities within a month will be assessed by the Steering Committee headed by the Union Home Secretary, which will make suitable recommendations," an official statement said.

At the meeting, initiatives like Suraksha App of Bengaluru Police and Power Angels of UP Police taken to ensure women safety, were discussed in detail. Other steps that were discussed include mobile counseling vans for hearing grievances of women, lighting in the sub-urban railway station areas, complaint boxes in colleges, dedicated helpline for women, setting up of shelter homes for women and making provisions for street lights.

Gauba told the meeting that there is a need for targeted intervention by the police and the civil administration to have a larger impact on women's safety.

He said independent analysis and feedback system should be institutionalized to assess the perception of women on ground regarding their safety issues. Their feedback and suggestions on various issues can also be incorporated after an independent survey and our approach to women's safety can thus be fine-tuned, he added.