The Disha App saw over 1.26 lakh downloads in the city on Wednesday, thanks to a mega registration drive organised by the Visakhapatnam City Police here on Wednesday.
Police teams also fanned across the city conducting awareness meets at educational institutions, workplaces and public places as part of the drive.
Addressing a gathering at the VMRDA Children’s Arena in the city on Wednesday, Collector A. Mallikarjuna stressed the need for creating more awareness on the installation of the Disha App in order to ensure a safe for providing a secure environment for women and girl children in the district. He said that the app would help instill confidence among women.
Mr Mallikarjuna said that around 8 lakh people in the district have downloaded the app, but only 5.15 lakh have registered themselves. “Registering will be more beneficial,” the Collector said.
He said that the POCSO Act is acting as a deterrent, and said the State government is giving priority to women security, safety and empowerment. Several important posts in the State are held by women, he noted.
Commissioner of Police Ch. Srikanth said that more women were coming forward to report cases of assault against them thanks to several initiatives taken by the government to remove the stigma attached to sexual assault cases and bridge the gap between the public and the police.
“The app helps women approach police with just a click and prevent a crime in case of an emergency,” Mr. Srikanth said. “Though it is designed to protect women, even men can also install and use it since it has an SOS feature,” he added.
During the programme, students from various colleges shared their experiences on using the Disha App.
Mayor G. Hari Venkata Kumari, MLC V. Kalyani, GVMC Commissioner G. Lakshmisha, Visakhapatnam MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, Joint Collector K.S. Swaminathan, DCP Sumit Garud, and women corporators were present.
