Vijayawada: ‘Meri Saheli’ to help lone women travellers on trains
Vijayawada : The Railway Protection Force (RPF) introduced ‘Meri Saheli’ with the primary objective of ensuring safe journey for women, especially to those traveling alone or with children, in selected long distance trains.
‘Meri Saheli’ teams ensure safety of women travellers throughout their train journey, from the point of origin to their final destination by responding swiftly to any situation that may arise during the journey of women passengers.
Currently, more than 230 dedicated ‘Meri Saheli’ teams consisting of female RPF personnel have been deployed at various railway stations across the country, covering over 400 trains and providing assistance to more than 14,000 female passengers on an average each day.
These teams play a vital role in educating passengers about security measures to be taken during their journey and provide information about the available channels for seeking assistance in case of distress.
‘Meri Saheli’ teams are well-equipped with modern gadgets and technology like ‘Meri Saheli’ module auto-populates data of women travelling alone in the computer tabs with the teams.
Railway Protection Force is proud to have the highest nine percent women in its ranks among all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
The RPF ladies not only provide security to women train passengers but help women passengers in distress. Many women are forced to undertake train journeys in advance stage of pregnancy and some of them go into labour while traveling. RPF women provide facilities to safe and dignified childbirth for these women under “Operation Matrishakti”. RPF has provided assistance in 130 such cases of childbirth on trains or railway premises during the current year so far.
The work by RPF under “Operation Matrishakti” by Assistant Sub Inspector Shobha Mote was recognised and appreciated during the prestigious show ‘India’s got talent’, the video of which can be viewed on YouTube link https://youtu.be/Zlx2c_XmOx8?si=mj85e1egEywpc9pT