BENGALURU: The Majestic area in the heart of the city sees thousands of passengers every day apart from the numerous business establishments. But, women are scared to visit the area at night as there have been cases of theft and sexual harassment in autorickshaws. In the light of this, the police have come up with a new plan to curb such incidents.
Thousands of passengers arrive at Majestic by trains and buses from distant towns. Passengers who are new to the city sometimes struggle to reach their destinations. At night, many cases of sexual harassment of women passengers in autorickshaws, robberies and other crimes have been registered in the police stations. It had become a challenging task for the police to trace the registration number and driver of the autorickshaws. In the dark, it becomes difficult for passengers to make note of the the autorickshaw registration number.
Therefore, tje Upparapet police have come up with a new plan, keeping in mind the safety of women who travel alone at night. From now on, women can travel safely in autos around Majestic as the police have introduced the UPS (Upparpet Police Station) number for all autorickshaws that are parked in Majestic’s KSRTC, BMTC, Terminal-2. They have pasted the UPS number in the front and rear of the autos.
Prem Kumar, an auto driver, said, “With the UPS number, the Upparpet Out post police have all details, including DL, Aadhaar number, voter ID, etc, of auto drivers. The UPS is only two or three digits, which can be easily remembered by passengers. The police will get to know the driver if anything happens to passengers if they have the UPS number. Parking of autos at Majestic bus stand is allowed only for those who have the UPS number. It is very safe for passengers not only from the city, but also those coming from distance places. In case passengers leave behind their belongings in the auto, they can easily get it back if they remember the UPS number”.
Nisarga, a student, said this is a good move by Upparpet police. “This is a very helpful method adopted by the police. If anybody leaves behind their things in an auto, it can be traced easily. Police can also prevent harassment of women or any misbehavior of auto drivers with female passengers. Travellers will feel safe if they are going long distances”, she said.