Open house: What steps should the Administration, police take to make Chandigarh safer for women?

Being an educational hub, a large number of young women stay in the city to pursue various courses, and their safety is a must. Instead of focusing on traffic violators, the Administration should first light up all dark spots and cover vulnerable areas with CCTV. There are a large number of unauthorised PGs in the city and these should be closed. A random checking of autos at night should be carried out.

Sapna Sharda, Chandigarh

QUESTION

Several crimes involving auto drivers have been reported in the past. A large number of unregistered autos ply on city roads and there is no record of drivers employed by auto owners. What measures should the Administration and the police take to ensure the accountability of auto owners and to curb crimes involving auto drivers?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com

Need to encourage street activities

Measures such as shifting bus stops from vulnerable points, installing street lights in dark spots and constructing more public toilets can greatly improve women’s safety in the City Beautiful. We need to encourage street activities to create natural surveillance. Public transport can be made safer at night. Raising awareness is one of the first steps to reduce and prevent violence against women in public places. Technology can play an important role in raising awareness against sexual harassment as well as on reporting assault and unsafe areas to the authorities concerned.

Vineet Gandhi, Mani Majra

Criminals have no fear of police

It appears these criminals have no fear of the police as they easily commit such crimes and get away. We see hardly any police patrolling during night. Illogical justifications are given for police inaction on various such crimes which happen during daytime and night.

Capt Amar Jeet, Kharar

Play safe and be safe

While the UT Administration and the police are duty-bound to keep tabs on crimes against women in the City Beautiful, my most humble submission could be: “Play safe and be safe”. It is strongly felt that the proposed “action plan” of the authorities for effectively dealing with crimes against women should be published along with the views of the “Chandigarh Tribune” on this matter.

Vinayak, Panchkula

set up Women cell at each police station

Incidents of crime against women have increased manifold in the tricity. It is, therefore, of paramount importance that the police set up special women cells at each police station. At the same time, NGOs and social organisations should be involved to ensure that women get their due status and must be treated on a par with men. Exemplary punishment must be awarded to culprits timely which will act as a deterrent. Lastly, education, health, economic independence and gender equality with self-esteem must be given due weightage in uplifting women in society.

Col TBS Bedi (retd), Mohali

Night curfew to blame

Imposing night curfew to control the spread of Covid 19 has created more problems than solutions. A woman passenger was raped by an auto-rickshaw driver in a place like Sector 17 during the curfew hours. The murder of two lonely women at Maloya and Mauli Jagran last week can also be attributed to the fact that criminals could easily get away with crime in the absence of witnesses. The UT Administration should review the decision of imposing night curfew or intensify police patrolling and get street lights installed in dark spots in the city.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Admn, police must work together

The Chandigarh Administration and the police must work together to ensure intensified patrolling by PCR vehicles in incident-prone areas for the safety of women. Women should be provided with safety aids. Each and every woman must be encouraged to download safety apps or helpline numbers which come in handy in case of emergency.

Dr Shakha Sharda, Chandigarh

Instil fear in criminals’ minds

Women’s safety is a very important topic these days. Every now and then, we got to know about some crime against women. To ensure their safety, we must identify the spots vulnerable to these crimes. Police patrolling should be intensified in those areas, specially, during the night hours. Criminals commit crime because they don’t fear the law. Thus, fear needs to be instilled in the minds of criminals by enacting strict laws. We need to guard our city not only from crime but also every obnoxious thing.

Sushree Priyadarshni, Chandigarh

Encourage women to be brave

Self-help is the best help. Women should not depend on others for their safety. They should learn martial art to handle any untoward situation. They must be bold and vigilant enough not to fall prey to any person with low mentality. The men folk in families should encourage women to be brave. Such incidents happen due to a corrupt mind-set of people as well as degeneration of moral values. More stress be laid on value-based education in our schools so that the male members of society are taught gender sensitisation. Police patrolling should be intensified. There should be special women squads to tackle the cases of crime against women. The functioning of women helpline numbers and police stations must also be streamlined. Above all, residents should speak and act against crime against women there and then instead of being a mute spectator.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Chandigarh

Deploy cops in secluded places

Forest areas with no lights and no check on migrants as well as auto-drivers pose a threat to the safety of women in the city. The Administration needs to deploy police personnel near secluded places and keep tabs on auto-drivers. The authorities need to keep a check on migrants.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Take up plaints by women seriously

Women’s safety in Chandigarh is a matter of great concern. The reasons behind this scenario are many — mainly, a lack of respect for women even in the so-called decent society, and secondly, no fear of law or social pressure against this behaviour. The first step that the Administration should take is strictly enforce the law and heavily punish those who indulge in crimes against women whoever they may be. The police personnel as well as the public should be sensitised that complaints by women should be taken up seriously and humanely. A victim’s family and society should support her rather than hiding or blaming her. The autos, taxis, rickshaws and their drivers should be in database so that they can be easily traced. Illegal plying of vehicles should be checked. All roads should be well lit, vulnerable places covered with CCTV cameras and police patrolling intensified to ensure the safety of women in the city.

Bubby Soin, Chandigarh

Give exemplary punishment

It is heart-rending to hear such news. Women be imparted self-defence training so that they can save themselves in such situations. The first and foremost duty of the UT police is to register all three-wheelers and cabs, they be called at police stations in batches and sensitised to the need of building a clean character. People are required to change their mind-set regarding women. This type of act is not a crime but a sin. Bad characters be awarded exemplary punishment.

MR Bhateja, Nayagaon

Ensure regular beat patrolling

It seems all is not well with the law-enforcing agencies. Criminals have created a sense of insecurity among local residents, especially women. There is a need to instil fear of law among criminals. It’s time to tell them the city police are alive and alert. There is a need to ensure regular beat patrolling as well as the use of technology in police investigation.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Women must know helpline numbers

The Administration should take necessary steps to prevent such crimes. It should ensure police patrolling at night and well-lit streets. All women must know the helpline numbers. The CCTV system and drone technology should be used to ensure the safety of the women. Persons committing crimes against women should be given exemplary punishments. Laws protecting and promoting the interests of women need to be widely propagated and effectively implemented. Education can also help in eradicating social evils. Society should also come forward to ensure the safety of the women.

Adish Sood, Amloh

Make public places safe for women

Such incidents have happened in the past too. The culprits are mostly auto drivers. Why the police do not take such incidents seriously. Mostly, autos are operated by people migrated from UP and Bihar. There should be some check on them. There is a need to effectively monitor the implementation and efficiency of the schemes for curbing harassment of women. Teams of police women in plain clothes need to be deployed outside all girls’ schools and colleges. The introduction of women-only buses to educational institutions, deployment of more women constables in pain clothes at public places, awareness drives on anti-sexual harassment panels in all organisations, installation of more CCTV cameras at public places, easy access to the IT cell to register complaints are the need of the hour.

Vijay Malia, Chandigarh

Effective police patrolling required

The Administration must provide support to vulnerable women and girls. There should be a pickup and drop facility for women who don’t have access to safe vehicles in odd hours. The Administration must strengthen “SHE Teams”. Priority should be given to women safety and for this, technology be optimally used. Spread awareness on women security and empowerment through posts on the social media.

Anita K Tandon, Kharar

Admn needs to focus on efficiency

The incidence of crime against women has been increasing each year. Rape, eve-teasing, murder, domestic violence and harassment for dowry are common crimes against women. The Chandigarh Administration is famous for its quick action in such cases, but its efficiency has decreased in the past years. Special SOS numbers, GPS connectivity, especially during the late hours for working women; timely action, proper patrolling and most importantly, changing the mind-set, rather than changing the law is the need of the hour.

Avinash goyal, Chandigarh

Safety of women a big concern

It seems the police and the administrations of the tricity are not learning from the past. If any proper action plan had been formulated by the police to prevent such incidents, these incidents would have never happened. Such incidents have exposed the false claims of the police. The security of the citizens of the tricity in general and that of women in particular should be the top priority of the police and to ensure that, there has to be 24X7 vigilance on all roads through patrolling vans and the CCTV camera system.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Make presence of police felt

The fear of being caught should be instilled in the minds of criminals to make Chandigarh a safe place for women. Prepaid booths and services linked with Apps should be made compulsory for operating autos. The helpline numbers should be displayed prominently and women educated about their safety. The police of the tricity should work together to prevent crimes against women.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh

Women can rely on local cabs

Travelling by an auto in night is never considered safe for women unless the vehicle is fitted with a working GPS. Though no mode of conveyance for women is safe at night, at least, one can rely on local cabs. Once a person books a cab, he or she can share the cab number and the driver’s contact number with friends and family members so that they can track him or her to home. For the night travel, the Administration can press into service a few cabs fitted with GPS. For this enhanced safety, no one would mind paying a little extra.

Savita Kuthiala, Chandigarh

Poor policing also to blame for crime

The recent crimes in the tricity have raised questions regarding the safety of women, especially during the night. The primary reason, of course, is poor policing. However, we cannot overlook other reasons for such crimes. There should be tougher laws against perpetrators of crimes against women. Criminals are aware of gaping loopholes in the existing laws for protection of women. The delay in our justice system also encourages many men to commit crimes. There is no fear of the police and other law-enforcement agencies in the minds of criminals. We need to inculcate values in boys regarding extending respect to all women. Moral education in schools will also help. All women should be taught skills to defend themselves in case of assault. The government should tie up with NGOs and other agencies in this regard. In fact, providing safety and dignity to women is the responsibility of every member of society.

Dr Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Make GPS mandatory for all vehicles

The cases of rape and eve-teasing are always in news in the tricity. The recent murders and rape of women have belied big claims of the police. The police may have a number of policies, but the implementation is poor. The Administration should install more CCTV cameras in sectors and villages, light up dark spots, recruit more police personnel, launch new SOS service and make GPS mandatory for all vehicles.

Aarti Verma, Panchkula

Tighten noose on criminals

If the back-to-back incidents of crime against women in Chandigarh are any pointers, the city is not safe for women. These recurring incidents have earned the city an amusing sobriquet of crime capital of the country. Close on the heels of the rape of a Kolkata native by an auto driver in Sector 17, the mutilated body of a woman was recovered from the forested area near Maloya. A day later, the body of yet another woman was found in a forest near Chandigarh railway station. No arrest in the cold-blooded murders has been made so far, pointing a finger at the police. If the Administration is serious about making the city safe for women, it needs to go for a complete overhaul of the police force. Police patrolling needs to be stepped up around the vulnerable spots across the city. Those at the helm need to do a recce of the sensitive areas and order installation of streetlights around the forested areas. Installation of the much-awaited CCTV cameras at vantage points and deterrent punishment to perpetrators would go a long way in curbing the rising crime in the city.

Ramesh K Dhiman, Chandigarh