Indian Railways launches new initiative 'Meri Saheli' for women passengers' safety

The Indian Railways, which is running over 400 festival special trains this season, has launched an initiative to provide extra security to women passengers.

'Meri Saheli' is aimed at responding effectively to any security-related issues faced by women, the national transporter said in a statement.

As per the initiative, teams of women sub-inspectors will interact with passengers at the starting station and provide emergency contact numbers. These teams will remain in touch with a specified number of women passengers throughout the journey.

The Railways said that a concerted drive will be launched against those involved in human trafficking, who may take advantage of the festive rush to target women and children.

It has also asked its field staff to launch intensive awareness campaigns among passengers regarding the Covid-19 guidelines to be followed at stations and on trains.

At present, the Railways is operating 682 special trains and 20 cloned services. It will operate 416 festival specials from October 20 to November 30 to meet the rush.