Furthering commitment towards safety of women, Govtt launches #PanicButton, #SafeCity Women safety initiatives

New Delhi, Feb 19: Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the presence Miniter of WCD, Maneka Gandhi, launched various initiatives in New Delhi today. 16 states and Union Territories jointed to the pan-India network of the single helpline number ‘112’ on which instant assistance can be provided to the girl in distress.

This initiative includes Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offenses (ITSSO), Safe City Implementation Monitoring Portal (SCIM), Strengthening of State Forensic Science Laboratories.

 

The states and UTs which are attached with Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman, Dadar Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jammu and Kashmir.

The ERSS is an integration of police (100), Fire (101), health (108) and women helpline (1090) numbers will be provided under emergency services through the single number ‘112’.

 

The ITSSO is meant for law enforcement agencies in the country. The system is an online module available to law enforcement agencies at all levels -- national, state, district and police station -- and allows the state to undertake real-time monitoring and management for completion of investigation in rape cases in two months.

The safe city implementation monitoring (SCIM) portal will instill a sense of security in women in metro cities. The government has identified eight cities for the implementation of safe city projects in the first phase at a cost of Rs 2,919 crore. The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. The projects are funded under the Nirbhaya Fund scheme.

 

On this occasion, Maneka Gandhi, Minister of WCD said, “the Panic Button is a technological intervention. A woman in distress can use it for immediate intervention and speedy assistance”. She said These mechanisms will facilitate greater efficiency in investigations and secure more convictions in cases of sexual assault, criminal paternity, and homicide against women.

According to an official statement, To access the emergency services, a person can dial 112 on a phone or press the power button of a smartphone three times quickly to send a panic call to the Emergency Response Centre (ERC).In case of a normal phone, a long press of the ‘5’ or ‘9’ key will activate the panic call function, People can also log onto the ERSS’ website for the state and lodge emergency Email or send SOS alert to state ERC. They can use the ‘112’ India mobile app, which is available free on the Google Play store and Apple store.

Further, the statement added, the single number for various emergency services, which is similar to the ‘911’ in the US, will be gradually rolled out across the country.