Hit SOS when in distress: Here's how to use the Disha app
In an attempt to raise awareness about the Disha app, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy will take part in an event to ensure that every woman in the state downloads the application.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 29 Jun 2021 11:47 AM GMT
Hyderabad: In an attempt to raise awareness about the Disha app, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy will take part in an event to ensure that every woman in the state downloads the application. The event is scheduled to take place at Gollapudi in Vijayawada on 29 June as part of an extensive campaign to prompt citizens to download the app.
The state government passed the Disha Bill to provide better security and protection to citizens, mainly women. In addition, the government introduced the Disha app to prevent and report instances of harassment, sexual harassment, and other crimes against women. The Gollapudi event aims to make every citizen download the app and also educate them on the use of the application. Meanwhile, various government departments and the AP police are organizing awareness programs on the app's features and usage.
Jagan explained how to use the app, "If a user presses the SOS button, a distress call goes to the Disha special command control room. Ten seconds of audio and video are recorded for evidence by the smartphone and the user will receive a call from the police immediately. If the user does not answer the call, the control room then sends the message to the emergency response patrol which is dispatched to the distressed users' location within minutes."
Features of the Disha app
Some of the salient features of this application include an SOS button that sends out an alert to the Disha command control centre, immediately notifies the police close to the location, and simultaneously notifies registered emergency contacts as well. A total of five numbers can be registered as emergency contacts.
A new feature called "Track My Travel" was incorporated in the application as an added measure for safety and supervision during travel. Emergency dial assistance numbers, 100 and 112, are also included in the application.
An option allows users to receive the contact information of police officers from the nearest police station and also the contact information of hospitals, maternity centers, trauma care centers, blood banks, and pharmacies.
So far, 17,65,000 citizens have downloaded the Disha app and 1,68,483 SOS requests have been sent out and addressed. A total 220 FIRs have been registered and 1,297 actionable cases have been taken on by the AP police.
The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple store.
Disha special officer Deepika Patil said, "Once it is downloaded, the app requests for certain permissions. This is the data that we ought to receive when someone presses the SOS button. To clear another doubt, we do not get access to any personal information of the user until she presses the SOS button, including the location."
