Not enough being done for women’s safety: NGO

New Delhi: An NGO working for women’s safety criticised the government and blamed it for not doing enough to ensure the safety and security of the women travellers.

The organisation accused the government for deferring the mandatory installation of GPS-enabled tracking devices and panic buttons in public transport vehicles till April 2019. It said that nothing concrete has been done so far to ensure the safety of children and women in the country despite the barbaric and ghastly incidents of rape.

According to a notification issued by the Union ministry of road transport and highways on November 28, 2016, all transport vehicles, such as buses and cabs, are required to be fitted with vehicle tracking systems along with an emergency button by April 1 this year.

However, in a circular issued on April 20, the ministry is learnt to have informed the state transport authorities of its decision to extend its implementation by a year. The reason cited for this postponement is non-readiness of the backend tracking system by the states.

“We are utterly shocked. It has been almost six years since India witnessed the horrific gang rape of Nirbhaya in a moving bus. The government is still sitting on a proposal that will ensure that women are safe while travelling in public transport,” said Kamal Soi, the chairman of Raahat Foundation.

Mr Soi said that they would file a PIL in the Supreme Court if the government didn’t withdraw the notification of extension.

Raahat Foundation recently appealed to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the states to ensure the implementation of the proposal.