Suraksha with Technology

Suraksha at Stake:  Not just a story but Real…

Last month Sandhya, a close friend called me at around 5 in the evening. Since I was engaged in a meeting, I ignored her call. I received a miscall from her number at around 9:30 p.m. again. I called her back with a delay of ten minutes but her phone declared dead. I blamed the battery and dismissed the idea casually to catch up with her next day.

When I called her the other day, I got to know of her story. She had been through a traumatic situation the previous night. She works on a global project with an MNC and thus has to keep up with odd timings, i.e. 12 p.m to 9 p.m. That night while she was returning home from work by her office cab, the incident occurred en-route Noida to Faridabad. She was the only employee in the cab. The driver was accompanied by a security guard, who slept all the way (most of them do the same and they are good for nothing because they are all over worked).  On one of the lonely and low-lit road, fifteen minutes close to her house, the car suddenly came to a halt. She thought it was a malfunction but no it turned out to be driver’s mischief. He had stopped the car near the roadside Beer and Wine shop to buy some for himself. The lean and meek guard who should have acted instantly sat smug taking no action. Sandhya scolded both of them but all in vain. They were not in the right senses.

The cheapster cab driver said… Madam, don’t panic, its just a matter of two minutes. I will gulp a bottle of beer and be back soon. Sandhya started sweating as the surroundings made her uncomfortable, the men around began to eye her and it was an unsafe place. She fished out her phone to make a call to the transport but she could only press a few buttons before the battery drained out. DAMN IT!! (During this act, I got the call accidentally because my number was the last dialed number at 5 same day.) However, at the end of it all, she returned home safely soon enough because she acted boldly and got lucky with help. She dared to get down from the car instantly and looked for some helpful face in the dark. Though there were not many vehicles passing by but she stopped a man on scooter, requested him for help not sure if she could trust him but she trusted her instinct. Many thanks to the stranger who dropped her home safely.

While hearing all this, I could hear my heart beat loud and I was freakishly scared. My work too demands me to return home late evenings and many times I am at the mercy of the security guards. The cab drivers are unpredictable, unknown most of the times. This incident can happen with anyone any day. I wish Sandhya had the Smart Suraksha application with her that day because before the battery drain out of her phone, she could have at least managed to press that one single button sending SMS to her selected contacts.

   Having lived in NCR for more than fifteen years, I can bet that every woman, young or old has felt unsafe at some place, point or time in here. Honestly, its not just about late evenings/nights because the fear lurks in broad daylight as well. And not just the lonely road, it can be scary in a room, a moving car or a bus, subway, metro station etc.

A young girl gets raped and thrown from a bus, another young girl gets raped and killed in her apartment, one girl gets stalked each day and then she is shot with pistol, yet another one is molested by her cab driver and thrown on road, another young lady gets raped by a self declared Godly person. Just a few lucky ones survive these incidents but others do not because HELP doesn’t come to them at the right time. We all know that none came for the help of Jyoti Singh Pandey and her friend. This application can get the much needed help at the right time. I wish I had this SMART SURAKSHA with me always to feel confident, safe and fearless.

THE SMART SURAKSHA APP… What is it?

It is a much needed solution for women folk in today’s dreadful time.This android mobile application will send an alert signal automatically, ‘seeking for help’ in troubled times. A press of a button will send a message to five pre chosen contacts, and police along with the location of the user even if the mobile gets switched off. This is an application for women to guarantee them safety. It can be downloaded from Google Play store. 

Each day, there are several girls who get stalked, eve teased, molested, raped and killed. Whenever, I go for a walk around my house, I am always reminded about the young student, Radhika Tanwar, who was shot dead just outside the college in South Campus of Delhi University, just five minutes away from my house. She was stalked for days. Wish she had the Smart Suraksha app with her.

SHARING AND TALKING ABOUT IT…

I called Sandhya to tell her about it. I do not have an Android phone so I am not able to download it but I did it for my Mom. I am also sharing this information with everyone in my circle. I am glad to have come to know about it first. More than the help message, it will also give confidence to females that ‘HELP is just a button away’ and it will also ‘DETER’ the culprits for sure.

You can download smart Suraksha App on your phone from Google Play Store here.

Info from the developers:   ‘An additional feature of this app, is that if you are in a situation where you are able to give details of the would-be offender, you can even record info like model of the car or clothes he is wearing, in your sms.’

I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.

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• Safety Letter for my Friends (manjulikapramod.com)