Punjab Starts Installing Panic Buttons in Women’s Colleges

LAHORE: The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has started installing panic buttons in women’s educational institutions to enhance privacy and security for female students.

A PSCA spokesperson said installation had been completed in 39 women’s colleges and universities in Lahore in the first phase, while the facility would be extended in phases to 450 women’s colleges across Punjab.

In case of an emergency, students can press the panic buttons to immediately alert police. The alert will be received at the PSCA control room, prompting a rapid response from the Virtual Women Police Station. The spokesperson added that panic button facilities were already available at 101 locations across Punjab, including 122 key points in Lahore.

Meanwhile, the Meri Pehchaan team has launched biometric identification of unclaimed bodies at mortuaries in Lahore, ensuring that no body remains unidentified for years. The team has completed biometric verification of 1,240 bodies from government and private morgues, handing over 805 to their families.

The initiative has also traced 1,359 missing or mentally challenged individuals living in old-age homes and welfare centres, reuniting 736 with their families. Linked with the National Database and Registration Authority, the system uses fingerprint verification for swift identification.

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According to Meri Pehchaan Centre In-charge Jamil Ahmed, biometric verification has been completed in more than 1,350 lost-and-found cases, with over 750 people reunited with their families. The process is also being carried out at Edhi centres. Edhi Foundation Lahore head Faisal Jalal said the organisation had identified nearly 1,200 individuals and handed over around 900 bodies to heirs since 2024.

Safe Cities officials said facial recognition technology was also being deployed for the identification of unclaimed bodies.

Separately, Punjab’s traffic police have intensified enforcement of helmet laws, with the PSCA warning that negligence on roads endangered both bikers and others.

Punjab Deputy Inspector General (traffic) said helmet law enforcement had increased by 80pc across the province. In August alone, 130,000 riders were fined for not wearing helmets, including over 85,000 in Lahore, 10,000 in Faisalabad, 6,600 in Rawalpindi, 5,000 in Multan, and 2,700 in Sialkot.

The crackdown is part of a road safety awareness campaign jointly run by HUM Network, Shell Pakistan, and Punjab traffic police.