Initiative Name: MITRA – Mobile Initiated Tracking & Rescue APP
Organization: Pondicherry University
Website: www.pondiuni.edu.in
App Link: APK File

YOUR FRIEND FOR SAFETY

MITRA is an Android-based mobile application to ensure women, children and senior citizen’s safety in times of distress. It is like an SOS, customised for Puducherry region. If users find themselves in an emergency situation, all they need to do is long press the audio button on their phones. The application is launched immediately and sends the location to the nearest police station, besides text messages to three of their emergency contacts — all this without opening the app.

Further, MITRA does not require an Internet connection.

During the installation process, the user can choose three emergency contacts to whom the alert message should be sent during an emergency. A decline option is also provided to cancel the emergency alert if the application is launched by mistake. To add an extra layer of security, a wrong pin entry can initiate the service in case the users are forced to press the decline option by their attacker. Another great feature of the app is that if the user is on the move, MITRA sends updated location at an interval of every five minutes.

MITRA comes built in with information about police stations in Puducherry, their contact numbers, contacts of NGOs and helplines, among other emergency services.

Another version of MITRA, PU-MITRA, is used within the 800-acre campus of the Pondicherry University for the prevention of ragging. Every year, an orientation and awareness programme is organised to inform first-year students at 92 colleges affiliated with the Pondicherry University about MITRA and facing emergency/ disastrous situations.