HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway’s Meri Saheli initiative, which aims to protect women travellers, especially the ones journeying alone, has elicited positive responses from the majority of passengers.
In a feedback survey conducted from January to July this year, two in every three passengers said Meri Saheli was an excellent initiative.
Over 40,000 passengers were surveyed for the feedback study.
The programme was launched in October 2020, as part of which, if a group of women or a woman is travelling alone, Railway Police Force (RPF) staff approach them or her and note their personal identification information.
This data is immediately fed into a computerised software sheet, making it instantly available to all the concerned RPF stations in the train’s route.
Further, the RPF’s escorting team in all stations will be provided the same information and they will enquire about the female passengers. In case of an emergency, toll free number: 139 can be contacted.
The “meri saheli” teams are set up at 20 stations across six divisions of SCR. Secunderabad Division has five stations, Hyderabad Division has two stations, Vijayawada has four, Guntakal four, Guntur one and Nanded has four stations.
Each team is led by a female sub-inspector and consists of two to 24 members. Fifteen originating trains and 35 passing through trains on SCR are being assisted by ‘meri saheli’ teams under the SCR.
A female constable Ravada Radha Rani said, “Railways provide us a single ladies travel list, based on that we approach them, enquire whether they are comfortable, are they facing any inconvenience?”
She added, “We walk around the rail coaches, interact with the ladies. If we see that they are travelling alone, we make a note of them; this provision is also for those who are travelling in the unreserved coaches. At the station platforms, biometric token machines are installed; the unreserved can take the token and inform the RPF officer they are travelling alone. They will make sure you will be under care throughout the journey.”
Statistics
Performance of Meri Saheli teams of South Central Railway from January to July-2023.
| Division | No. of trains attended | No. of passengers assisted | No. of feedbacks collected | Excellent | satisfactory |
| Secunderabad | 5,190 | 22,159 | 19,179 | 12,974 | 6,205 |
| Hyderabad | 674 | 484 | 7,505 | 7,505 | -- |
| Vijayawada | 4,579 | 24,114 | 7,294 | 1,280 | 5,986 |
| Guntakal | 1,820 | 322 | 1,116 | 974 | 146 |
| Guntur | 1,061 | 630 | 894 | 808 | 86 |
| Nanded | 435 | 195 | 5,239 | 3,936 | 1,353 |
