The need for technology to run security systems in the city was what members of the TOI-constituted `Save Hyderabad Committee’ unanimously stressed during their second meeting on Monday. While some members recommended the development of a mobile application that could work as an `emergency alarm’ for citizens in distress, others called for urgent installation of CCTV surveillance in industrial and commercial pockets of Hyderabad.
Demonstrating a safety app developed internally for the benefit of Infosys employees, Narsimha Rao, vice-president and centre head of the company’s Pocharam campus, and also a member of the forum said: “The app can be downloaded into any smartphone and used by an individual to call for help with the click of a button.” He added that a similar technology-driven programme could be created for the general public too.
The existing application, once activated, sends out text messages to five people `nominated’ by the contact with details about his/her exact location. It also sets off an emergency siren. Later it could be created for normal mobile phones as well, he added. A similar application has also been developed by a Delhi-based organization Security Watch for commercial use.
The suggestion was well received by all members present at the meet, with the chair of the committee and former speaker K R Suresh Reddy, even calling for an early adoption of the application by the city police force.
“The police need technology to capture criminals and, thereby, curb the crime rate in the city,” said Swaranjit Sen, former director general of police and also member of the TOI committee.
Sen recommended better cameras and CCTV support for cops. “Policemen aren’t bad people. You have to emotionally awaken them to make them discharge their duties more responsibly,” he added, while taking the
suggestion of organising awareness drives for various sections of society forward. The members felt there was also a need to reach out to school students and inculcate in them a better `civic sense’ and seek their support for keeping Hyderabad safe.
To begin with, they agreed to rope in all students who took an oath to protect fellow citizens in distress at the TOI-organised police-public interactive session on March 16.
“We can start with these children and later take the drive to more city colleges and educational institutions,” said Kingshuk Nag, convenor of the Save Hyderabad committee. Reiterating Nag’s suggestion, filmmaker Mani Shankar added that these children could be identified as “champions for women’s safety” as that would boast their morale and encourage more people to join the campaign. “Everybody likes to be recognized and rewarded. Giving these children a token of appreciation will do wonders for the drive,” Shankar said.
The member noted that ensuring the security of women could go a long way in making Hyderabad safe. Activist Chandana Chakrabarti, while seconding the thought, also suggested extending the sensitization
drive to cover policemen too. “This will help in image building of the police and change the common man’s perception of them,” she said. Yet another form of awareness drive was recommended by managing editor
of the Saisat daily Zaheeruddin Ali Khan. He said the distribution of pamphlets, listing out safety measures that citizens could follow to protect themselves and others, would also prove effective. “These could be in various languages for the benefit of a larger section of society,” he added.
Other suggestions put forth by the committee included logging on to social networking sites to bring together more `alert citizens’, use youth icons from Hyderabad as ambassadors of the initiative and even compile a database of auto owners to crack down on offenders. “In most corporate offices now, the management is held responsible if a woman leaving for home after 8 pm runs into trouble. A similar approach should be adopted with regard to auto owners. This might help in checking crime against women involving auto drivers,” Rao said.