Safety on trains – Indian Railways to launch Safety App for women passengers

In view of increasing incidents of crimes involving women travelers, the Indian Railways have plans to launch a Safety App for the women passengers. The App is being developed by CRIS which is the technology wing of the Railways. It will have to be downloaded on mobile phones and can be used to send distress messages to RPF and GRP with the single press of a button.
This has been revealed by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and it presupposes that all women who travel in trains would be in possession of mobile phones and would be able to download the App and use it. In a country where illiteracy is still there among many sections of women, this would be a tough task.
The minister has said that women’s’ safety is not only the concern for the Railways but for the entire society. He made these statements after launching WiFi service at the New Delhi railway station.
Some other measures that are being proposed by the Indian Railways make for interesting reading – like CCTVs in each compartment to keep track of the suspicious people, bi-toilets for better hygiene. These ideas look wonderful on paper and sound still better during discussions but it needs to be remembered that bulbs in many train compartments are stolen and the latches of existing toilets are broken and there ae no water at times in the toilets.