Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched 'Abhayam' mobile phone application which helps women and children travelling in taxis and auto-rickshaws, to raise alarm in case of any emergency.
To start with, 1,000 auto-rickshaws equipped with Internet-of -Things (IoT)-enabled GPS devices will be rolled out in Visakhapatnam city.
Five thousand vehicles will be brought on to the platform by February 1, 50,000 by July 1 and 1,00,000 by November 2021.
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Launching the app, Mr. Reddy said the Government accorded top priority to the safety of women and children and that Andhra Pradesh was the first State to bring out a legislation (Disha Bill) for security of women.
Disha police stations were set up and steps were taken for establishing special courts and posting dedicated public prosecutors to ensure speedy disposal of cases of attacks on women.
To be operated by the Transport Department (Disha app is handled by the police), the Abhayam app would help the women in alerting the police by pressing a panic button in the event of their landing in any trouble.
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The policemen would be able to reach out to the women in need in just 10 minutes by virtue of the vehicle tracking facility provided by the IoT - based system.
The passengers have to scan QR codes displayed on the vehicles to facilitate tracking.
Mr. Reddy said the auto-rickshaw drivers should not consider it as viewing them with suspicion. Rather, Abhayam sends a message that taxis and auto - rickshaws in the State were as safe as the vehicles operated by multi-national cab aggregators Uber and Ola.