After minor’s rape, NDMC to ensure panic buttons, breathalysers at Delhi schools

From installing a panic button to procuring breathalysers, lighting up dark spots and installing barbed fencing, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Friday announced a series of measures to tighten security at its schools in the national capital.

The measures were announced two days after a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped at an NDMC school, leading to a protest at the school by hundreds of parents.

A senior NDMC official said under the new guidelines, every person, other than the regular employees of the school, will require a visitor’s pass to enter the premises.

“We will make sure that the boundary walls of each school has barbed fencing. Also, at the main gate, we will install intercom telephones and connect them with the school’s administrative office and to the principal’s office. Another important measure that is being taken is to install CCTV cameras at every place in order to ensure that there are no dark zone. A panic button is also being planned on every school campus for both teachers and students, which can be used to raise the alarm in case of a distress,” the official, requesting anonymity, said.

He further said breathalyzers will be procured to ensure that none of the staff members or visitors is in an inebriated state.

Naresh Kumar, chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council, said all these measures need to be implemented in a timebound manner.

He said, in April 2017, the council had transferred all male staff, including teachers, from girls’ schools. It was just last year that a male teacher and a male clerical staff were employed due to a staff shortage.

The NDMC has also formed a three-member committee that includes the secretary, NDMC, director education and director vigilance to find out what went wrong, leading to Wednesday’s incident.

First Published: Aug 11, 2018 03:44 IST