Key Points:
- The “Meri Saheli” initiative was started as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September 2020 and after getting encouraging response from lady passengers, it was extended to all zones and KRCL.
- Interactions with lady passengers by team of lady RPF personnel at the starting point.
- The seat number of passengers travelling alone is noted by the RPF team and forwarded to the RPF of all the other stations on the way.
- Passengers can dial 182 in case of any Emergency.
The Railway Ministry has launched the “Meri Saheli” or “Nanna Sakhi” initiative in order to offer more safety to female passengers. Meri Saheli aims to focus on safety of women across all zones.
The Official Press Release: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1668560
The thought behind the initiative was the RPF and its purpose is to provide start to end safety and security to lady passengers that travel by trains.
Indian Railways has launched “Meri Saheli” initiative for focused action on security of women with an objective to provide safety & security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey.https://t.co/BxMPUwlJvV pic.twitter.com/8EDzHFhBRH
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 29, 2020
What exactly is Meri Saheli?
- Interactions with lady passengers by team of lady RPF personnel at the starting point.
- Special attention to passengers travelling alone.
- Lady passengers are briefed about all precautions to be taken during the journey.
- 182 – to be dialled in case of any Emergency.
- The seat number of such passengers is noted by the RPF team.
- The number is then be forwarded to the RPF of all the other stations on the way.
- Every batch of personnel keeps an unsuspicious watch on those seat numbers.
- If the need arises, the RPF will interact with the lady passengers on board.
- RPF/RPSF escort on board also covers all the coaches/identified berths during its duty period.
- The RPF team will collect feedback from the passengers at the end of their journeys.
- The feedback is then analysed and improvements are done accordingly.
🚆 भारतीय रेल ने महिलाओं की सुरक्षा के लिए ऑपरेशन 'मेरी सहेली' 👭🏻 शुरू किया
इस अभियान के तहत 👮🏻♀️ सुरक्षाकर्मी महिला यात्रियों को सीट पर जाकर जागरुक करेंगी
किसी भी समस्या के लिए महिलाएं 💁🏻 'मेरी सहेली' टीम से बात 🗣️ और 182 पर कॉल 📞 कर सकती हैं
📖 https://t.co/NvpgoqwO7k pic.twitter.com/CL2Ae4TJHj
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 29, 2020
If a distressed call comes from the train covered under ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative, the call will be monitored by the senior level officers. The ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative was started as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September 2020. After an encouraged response from the lady passengers, the initiative was extended to all zones from October 17, 2020 and now the operation is gaining momentum.
The project has been executed under the framework of the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’, and it does not involve any additional expenditure under the head of Railways, the statement added.
