Now, free ride to home for women stuck in

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 1

In a first ever initiative by the Punjab Police, the Ludhiana Commissionerate has launched a free-ride scheme for women who are alone and fail to find a ride in odd hours. Women can call the police helpline numbers and request for a vehicle to drop them at home.

The nearby PCR vehicle or SHO vehicles will drop women at their destinations. The facility will be available between 10 pm and 6 am on all days.

Commissioner of Police Rakesh Agrawal said: “We have started many programmes to ensure safety and security of women in Ludhiana. We have two dedicated helpline numbers, 1091 and 7837018555, for women. These are open 24x7. Women can dial these numbers to get a free ride to home in Ludhiana”.

Agrawal said the police had also organised many seminars in schools and colleges on self-defence for girls and tips to prevent eve-teasing. Our aim is to cover at least one school or college per day.

“We have launched the Shakti app whereby women can get police help at the click of a button. The app has SOS features and at the touch of one button, your 10 contacts are updated about your location with SOS help message and location is immediately shared with the nearest PCR.

“We have installed the app on the mobiles of more than 2,500 women in the past one month and this can be downloaded from play store in your mobile. We have restarted PCR patrolling by women staff near vulnerable areas on Activa scooters during day time,” said the CP.

The police have four women officers posted as SHO in Ludhiana. Besides, we have many other senior women officers. The ACP (Crime Against Women) Prabhjot Kaur is the nodal officer for any issues regarding safety of women in Ludhiana.

These helpline numbers can also be used for counselling of school students and for reporting any abuse of students.