Women’s security gets Rs 300 crore more

Women commuters in the city can now feel a little more secure, what with nearly Rs 300 crore having been approved for installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at railway stations. The cameras will be placed outside ladies’ toilets, the space on the platform where ladies coaches stop and women’s waiting rooms.

In a bid to thwart crimes against women on railway premises, the government has decided to upgrade security measures by replacing old cameras with the latest ones. “The CCTV camera, like any technology, gets redundant after a year or so. New cameras will be welcomed as many of the existing cameras have been getting old,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

With railway stations classified as “A” and “B” depending on the number of footfalls, heavy loading stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Mumbai Central, Dadar, Kalyan, Andheri, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) and Borivali will be getting the technological upgrade.

The upgrades are important in the wake of the Esther Anuhya case in January last year where the accused, Chandrabhan Sanap, was traced with the help of CCTV cameras at LTT station.

However, many women commuters like Aakanksha Bajpai (24) — who lives in Mahim and returns from her Andheri workplace late at night — said that small stations which are usually deserted at night should get the upgrade rather than biggerstations.

“Late in the night, stations like Khar and Mahim have very few people on the platforms, so the technology will be more useful at smaller stations where women are even more vulnerable,” she said.

“At times, I get down at Dadar and take a cab to Mahim only because post 12 o’clock, Mahim gets a little too shady for my comfort,” she added.

The upgrades will include baggage scanners and walkthrough gates where anything suspicious can be easily spotted. In fact, the Railway Police Force (RPF) recently went through in-depth training from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

In another development, the Railways will build residential barracks for Railway Protection Force (RPF) women constables, first at Jogeshwari with other stations later following suit. Thebarracks will offer these women constables privacy and a place to eat and sleep when they are given double duty. “This is a big boon for all women constables who have been posted on the western line and stay in faraway places like Badlapur and Panvel. They will come here and take rest if the day has been too heavy and they have ended up doing a double shift either due to lack of manpower or too many people being on leave,” said an official.