Women Safety: Lucknow to go through major upgrades under safe city

The streets of Lucknow are set to become safer with the Ministry of Home Affairs approving a Safe City project, under which Lucknow will get exclusive police outposts and power helpline for women.

This decision comes as a much needed respite for the city that has been constantly dealing with cases of crimes and brutality against women.

The Safe City project which will be implemented under the Nirbhaya Fund is extended to seven other cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad apart from Lucknow. The project is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and costs a total of ₹194.44 crores for Lucknow itself.

The project aims to bring major changes in the security system by introducing integrated smart control rooms; pink outposts that will be exclusively administered by women police and will aim to make filing a complaint by women easier; pink patrols of women police; a separate women help desk in all police stations equipped with counselors; implementing transportation safety measures including cameras in buses; improved street lighting in identified areas; pink toilets; and an integration of women power-help line with ‘112’ as a single emergency number.

The Safe City project for Lucknow will be implemented by the Uttar Pradesh police assisted by the municipal and transport Authorities. The project also aims to conduct campaigns about gender sensitivity and create awareness regarding the existing rights and laws on female security.

Pink buses to strengthen women security in the city

In another good move for the safe city project, Lucknow will soon have hi-tech pink buses exclusively for women commuters. Under the transportation departments wing, these will have CCTV cameras who’s recording will be relayed to the police department.

They will also be directly connected with police interceptor vehicles, have a panic button and a GPS locator installed in them. In the first phase of the project 50 buses will run along routes that are still being selected. These buses that also fall under the Nirbhaya fund would most likely have women drives and conductors who will be made accustomed to the features.