The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh and Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Gandhi on February 19, 2019 jointly launched the Women Safety initiative of Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) in 16 States/UTs and Mumbai city.
- People in these states and UTs can now call a single pan India number 112 for any emergency.
- In addition, Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO) and Safe City Implementation Monitoring Portal were also launched.
- The 16 States/UTs where the ERSS has been launched are Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Andaman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, J&K.
- One can dial 112 or use Panic Button on their phones or 112 India Mobile App to connect to a single emergency services number 112 which will combine Police, Fire, Health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre in the State.
- Nirbhaya Fund for strengthening DNA analysis: Union Home Minister also announced approval of Rs. 78.76 crore for a special project under the Nirbhaya Fund for strengthening DNA analysis capacities in the State Forensic Science Laboratories of four States of Tamil Nadu (Chennai and Madurai), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow and Agra), West Bengal (Kolkata) and Maharashtra ( Mumbai). He said that this effort will help in speedy investigation of rape cases.
- ERSS had already been successfully implemented in the States of Himachal of Pradesh and Nagaland.
The emergency response system can be triggered in the following manners:-
- On the smart phones, the power button (which is dedicated panic button) when pressed three times quickly.
- Dialing 112 from any phone.
- In case of feature phones, long press of the touch key 5 or 9.
- Using 112 India Mobile App which is available for free downloading.
- For women and children, 112 India App provides a special SHOUT feature which alerts registered volunteers in the vicinity of victim for immediate assistance
Safe City project
- In order to provide safety for women in public spaces, the Government has identified eight cities for implementation of Safe City project.
- The 8 major cities which have been chosen are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. Detailed projects for this have been prepared jointly by the municipal bodies and the local police authorities.
- The projects include creation on ground assets & resources and mindset safety of women
