The gang rape and murder of the 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi last year led to massive public protests over rising violence against women in the South Asian country where a rape occurs every 20 minutes
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - India plans to install CCTV cameras and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) on buses in cities across the country to help improve safety for women following the fatal gang rape of a trainee physiotherapist on a bus last December, the Indian Express reported on Monday.
The plan by the road transport ministry will allow for control centres to be set up to monitor the movement of buses and be able to see what is happening on each of them at any given time, the report said.
"The recordings by cameras and GPS will be monitored real time," an unnamed official from the road ministry was quoted as saying.
"We also plan to closely work with the police to ensure their intervention in case of detection of any untoward incident. The plan is to implement these in cities with population over one million," he added.
The gang rape and murder of the 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi last year led to massive public protests over rising violence against women in the South Asian country where a rape occurs every 20 minutes.
The government promised a series of measures in response to the protests, including a $186 million fund - named "Nirbhaya" meaning fearless, a pseudonym given to the December victim who tried to fight off her six attackers.
Money from the fund will also go towards the development of a watch, pen or mobile with a panic button which will send out distress signals, the report added.
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