What’s Project Chaitra?

Despite issues of bifurcation plaguing the state, the efforts of a group of IT professionals and film-makers have caught the attention of opposition leader Chandrababu Naidu. It’s Project Chaitra — a petition that aims to create new policies for women’s safety, which finds a mention in the former CM’s election manifesto.

The project was born out of the devastation caused by the Delhi gang rape, Rajesh Kamireddi, a social entrepreneur and IT Consultant, points out, “We are all private successes amongst public failure.”

The rape hit the group of friends at a very personal level — thanks to the entry of the first child into their lives two months before the incident. In October 2012, Kartheek Malladi, another software professional and his wife Valli welcomed their new born daughter Chaitra.

“While showering her with love, we realised, what exactly are we leaving behind for the girl?” Rajesh recalls, adding, “Our sisters, mothers and daughters are only safe at home or places where we can control the situation. We wanted to gift Chaitra a safer society.”

The group received a further jolt when they discovered that according to a 2011 report by the National Crime Records Bureau, Andhra Pradesh is ranked second in crimes against women. So they put together a presentation, pooled in their resources, shot a video petition, and initiated a missed-call response system to garner numbers. Project Chaitra now has 20 lakh followers and it was only in November 2012, that the initiative gained momentum on social media.

Srini Miryala, who brought in his technical expertise, ensured that the follower-count doubled. “We had the instant revert via SMS, which allowed people to forward it to their friends and further spread the word,” he explains.  Meanwhile, software engineer Ravi Vaka, through his firm Whackedout Media, which handles the social media accounts of Tollywood biggies, made sure to get the celebrity fans on board. With the likes of Madhura Sreedhar joining the group, the video shoot with Jayasudha and Indian Idol Sreeram was easier to achieve. Sreedhar also helped the group get in touch with those in power, to initiate the actual real-world process of creating the policy change.

Project Chaitra has a four-point demand: set up a helpline similar to 181 in Delhi; no officer less than a women DSP should visit a raped/sexually harassed woman and file FIR; recruit more women police; and establish a fast track court for women-related cases. All the points are realistic and based on working models elsewhere.

“The nature of the campaign is such that we need politicians to get involved. We need policy changes and not changes at individual levels. And to make it happen, we’ll go to whoever it takes,” Vaka explains.