Now, woman security guards must at all government girls’ hostels in Maharashtra

Maharashtra’s higher and technical education department has come up with a detailed set of guidelines, after the alleged rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl at a South Mumbai government hostel by the watchman on June 5.

The government through a Government Resolution (GR) issued the norms for the hostels based on the safety audit report by a five-member committee under the chairmanship of the Director of Higher Education Shailendra Deolankar.

The government’s guidelines stipulate a fixed time for supplementary facilities such as laundry services at the girls’ hostels and appointment of women service providers for the same.

Along with instructions on specific safety measures, the GR also recommends five-member regional committees headed by the respective joint directors of higher and technical education to continuously review the safety and security measures of the hostels in the region. The committees will have one police officer from a nearby station. These committees are first tasked to review the existing system of admissions regarding security concerns.

As per the GR, the warden and other authorities and staff at the hostels will be given training for the job with an emphasis on ensuring the security of hostel residents. A detailed training programme will be developed by the office of the director of higher and technical education. The government also mandates one emergency alarm button on each floor of the institution.

Among the infrastructural measures suggested by the committee are building a strong safety wall around all hostels, CCTV cameras on the entire campus, including the outward direction of the main gate, and a computerised registration system for entry and exit of all inmates. Hostels will have to send attendance reports of student residents to their parents, periodically.

All hostels are expected to have anti-ragging committees along with provision for suggestion boxes and other contact services such as e-mail for student residents to submit their grievances.

The regional committees will have to ensure implementation of all security measures recommended by the security audit committee, along with emphasis on making arrangements for the infrastructural requirements instructed in the GR. These committees will have to review and submit a report within a month on their plan of action. They will also have to review the security measures of the hostels every six months.