WR to install 1700 CCTV cameras for women’s safety

Mumbai: Women commuting on Western Railway (WR) can feel a lot safer with plans afoot to beef up security. A total 1,700 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will be installed on platforms, subways and foot over-bridges at a cost of Rs 24 crore. A proposal to this effect has been sent to WR headquarters in Churchgate and their nod is expected by March end. In 2015, WR had been in the eye of a storm when a nurse and an American woman were molested within a week of one another.

Special attention will be given to cameras installed in subways as many women commuters have said that they feel unsafe when using these at odd hours. Incidentally, WR has comparatively more subways as compared to Central Railway (CR). Speaking about the decision, WR divisional railway manager Mukul Jain said, “The proposal is a part of our Integrated Security System through which, the cameras will be high end and the metal detector doors will have new software that raises a red flag whenever anything that can be considered a weapon passes through.”

Dhara Kanani (25), an independent filmmaker who travels from Andheri to Khar every day, said that due to the nature of her work, she often travels in trains at odd hours and ends up taking a taxi just to avoid the subway. “At night, a foot over-bridge is a little better because it is open and if you call out for help, someone will help you. But a subway is enclosed and it’s hard for anyone on the train like even the police or station staff to know that something has happened,” Ms Kanani said.