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Help is just a finger-press away for damsels in distress. Ringing in a new era of women safety, the Punjab Police has launched for your smartphones an app for women safety. Press the panic app and alarm bells will ring not just in the police station but also among the listed well-wishers.
The mobile app — Stri Sanman — will be available on Android-based platform Google Play store. later, the same will also be made available on Apple and windows-based phones.
The app, created by Saanjh Punjab Police, comes at a time when the Central Government is contemplating the addition of a "panic button" in the mobile phones. Only recently, an announcement to this effect was made by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi.
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has managed to get mobile phone firms on board for providing a panic button in handsets by March that will send alerts to police in case of emergency.
Already, similar women safety mobile applications have been launched by other State Governments other than the private ones.
With the Punjab Police's new app, it seems that weaker sex will no more be weak. In fact, the app has received "thumbs up" by ludhiana residents in its first week of launch in the district by the district police, and the decision has been taken to extend it to the rest of the State.
"This is a free application…The user is just required to register in this app, and after that the user will get a registration key which needs to be entered to complete the application configuration," a Punjab police official told The Pioneer.
The official said that as soon as the user of Stri Samman app raises the SOS alert from this App, the location information is transmitted to the Punjab Police control room and their predefined numbers. Punjab Police can then immediately send the nearest Police help to the victim, added the official.
Besides, sending SOS alerts by clicking the 'Help Button' - a one touch alert to notify the Punjab police and user's three contact - it also provide contact numbers of all the nearest Police Station's SHOs (station house officers).
"The main aim of the app is to protecting the women from sexual harassment and eve-teasing on just a click on the help button displayed on the screen or by shaking the mobile phone. This will send a message to the police and three contacts listed by the user," said the official.
Via this app, the women can also inform the police about timings and places unsafe for the women under 'Report Unsafe' option - recommending increased patrolling.
"To popularise the app, we will be approaching the schools, colleges, universities. We will conduct seminars, make them aware about the app and encourage the girls to download it," said the official.
