App from Meerut cops eludes rural women

MEERUT: While Smart 24x7 – the woman’s security smart phone app launched by Meerut police – may have received a warm welcome from many residents, several others cited the loopholes in the initiative.
Nearly 48% of females of the district’s females who live in the rural areas, according to Census 2011, will be left out of the app’s purview as they either do not own a smart phone or are not tech savvy enough.
“I am happy that Meerut police has taken some initiative for women’s safety. But one thing that they fail to understand is that via this initiative only the women with smart phones can be helped. What about those, who live in rural areas? They generally do not have phones, leave alone smart phones,” said Isha Tyagi, a city resident.
Questioned on the issue, IG Alok Sharma non-chalantly said, “If a survey is conducted in schools, 50% of students would be in possession of a smart phone. Moreover, smart phones are not a costly affair any more. One can get them for a mere Rs 5,000.”
Though finances may not be a limiting factor owing to the cheap rates of smart phones, the users’ ability to operate such phones is another question altogether, feel Meerut residents.
“My mother is a teacher at a school in the city. She owns a smart phone, but uses it only to make calls. She is completely unaware of the phone’s other functions. She does not even have internet connection in her phone, let alone use apps that work over the net,” said resident Himani Sharma.
Sharma further stated that if her mother, who is an educated professional, is not tech savvy, then how can the police expect illiterate rural women to be experts with apps and smartphones.