Amaravati, Nov 23: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched Abhayam App to ensure safe and secure travel for women passengers who commute by autos and taxis. The app aims at providing emergency help to those in distress and instills confidence among women.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that his government was taking many steps to stand up for women empowerment, including their safety and security. This is the first Internet of Things (IoT) based women safety project, brought for the safety of women traveling by autos and cabs. He asserted that this ambitious project was brought not due to lack of trust on auto and taxi drivers, but to build confidence on the drivers among women passengers. “Not just corporate companies like Ola and Uber offer safe travel, even our local autos and taxis can offer much safer transport, where women needn’t fear to board these vehicles.”

The Chief Minister said that the project aims to bring one lakh autos under the Abhayam initiative, where 5000 vehicles will be equipped with tracking and IoT devices by February 1, 50,000 vehicles by July 1 and reach one lakh by November 2021.
Initially, IoT devices were set up in 1000 autos in Visakhapatnam as a pilot project and will be introduced in Vijayawada and Tirupati.
Those traveling by autos will need to install the Abhayam mobile application on their mobile. The QR code affixed to the vehicle must be scanned before boarding the vehicle. With this, the driver's photo and vehicle details will come to the mobile. If women using a smartphone encounter difficulty in their journey, they can send the relevant vehicle number to the police from the mobile app and the whereabouts of the vehicle can be tracked through GPS. Passengers who do not have a smartphone press the panic button on the IoT device attached to the vehicle and the information is sent to the Command Control Center. This causes the cab or auto to stop immediately and alert the nearest police station.

Reiterating that the State government is giving top priority to law and order, safety and Security of women, the Chief Minister said that there should be no compromise on the protection and safety of women. The government had already provided financial assistance through schemes like Aasara, Cheyutha for empowering them by all means. Similarly, the government had also brought 50 percent reservation to the women in nominated posts and also appointed two women as Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.

To ensure women’s safety to the fullest, the government established special police stations in every district and are taking steps to set up special courts and bringing Mahila Police Mitras in every village. The Police brought Disha App, which is being used by all sections of the society especially women, on similar lines Transport Department brought Abhayam App to travel fearlessly by taxis and autos.
Home Minister M Sucharita, Transport Department Secretary Krishanbabu, Transport Commissioner P Sitaramanjaneyulu and other officials were among those present at the event.