JOIN USStatus check: How Nirbhaya Fund is being spent
The first phase of the ‘Safe City Project’, planned with money coming in from the Nirbhaya Fund, is halfway through.
December 16 marks 10 years of the brutal gangrape and murder of a 22-year-old girl in southwest Delhi, now known as the Nirbhaya case.
In 2019, the Karnataka government approved Rs 667 crore to set up physical and technological infrastructure to boost the safety of women in Bengaluru.
Praveen Sood, director general and inspector general of police, said some uses of the funds will be visible to the public while others will improve the system at the backend.
Among the visible outputs is the plan is to instal about 8,000 CCTV cameras, of which, almost 4,000
cameras, he says, are operational.
Volunteers have been stationed in all police stations in the city to counsel and assist women in distress. A common command centre and safety islands are in the works. Safety islands are telephone booth-like islands built for women to take shelter till the police arrive.
Talking of ‘invisible’ projects, Sood says funds to the tune of Rs 40-50 crore have gone towards upgrading the Forensic Science Laboratory Division (FSL). “Earlier, there was a waiting period of eight to nine months to get results. Now it is one month,” he says. Similarly, they are setting up more DNA testing labs to bring down the turnaround time to one month.
The strengthening of Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) at all women police stations in the state is also happening. “We have provided equipment, computers, and vehicles at these stations,” he says.
Nirbhaya Kendra-Sakhi One Stop Centre, another initiative under the Nirbhaya Fund, was launched in February this year. Running on the second floor of the BMTC terminus at the Kempegowda Bus Station, it is a centre to provide assistance to women and children in distress.
It has received 550 cases involving girls and women, of which, 70% were from Bengaluru and the rest from the districts. These were related to domestic violence, rape, sexual abuse, acid attack, trafficking, child marriage, kidnapping, cyber crime, dowry harassment and other offences, a representative shared. Most cases fall in the age group of 25 to 40.
The staff were able to resolve 60% of the cases by counselling. They had to forward the rest to police stations, the District Legal Services Authority, and other such agencies.
Facilities to record the victim’s statement, carry out their medical examination and enable video conferences to aid their trial deposition have been added since the launch.
Call for help
*Nirbhaya Kendra-Sakhi One Stop Centre: 080 2653 8977
*Women Helpline: 181