In a month, meter autos for women, by women

City commuters have wholeheartedly welcomed autorickshaws running on meters. And now, there’s more good news.

Next month, over 100 autorickshaws, exclusively for women and driven by women, will be launched in the city by a private operator.

These vehicles will also be fitted with tabs that will telecast TV shows.

“It will be like TV on wheels. We want to ensure the safety of women and also keep them entertained during the commute,” said Mansoor Ali Khan, co-founder of Makkal Auto, which is behind the novel service.

The tabs will telecast daily soaps, reality shows and documentaries on successful women, said Mr. Khan, who had earlier co-founded Namma Auto — autorickshaws that ran on meters before the government enforced the rule.

The tabs in the women-only autorickshaws will have an emergency button, front and rear cameras and calling facility. “When the button is pressed, video footage of the crime or accident will be sent to a call centre, and a call will be made to the nearest police station,” said Mr. Khan.

Besides, the autorickshaws will have WiFi connections and printers.

The vehicles will operate on government-approved rates from 6 a.m. to 8.30 p.m.  

“GPS and panic buttons, announced by the State government, have failed to take off in the autorickshaws plying on city roads. But we have efficient technology from a Singapore firm to ensure help arrives when needed,” said Mr. Khan.

Women can contact a call-centre (66777777) for booking the autos. “We are also working on an app that will let them select an auto based on its driver details. The app will also enable a family member to track the journey of the passenger, particularly if she/he is old,” said Mr Khan.

In the initial phase, 100 women-only autos will be rolled out. “We are training another 400 women drivers who will be out on the road in the next three months,” said Mr. Khan.

They will also have tabs that will telecast TV shows

Organ donation gets tech savvy with mobile apps

A measure of how popular organ donation has become in the State and city is how it has entered the technology zone – personal technology, mobile phones and social media. 

It cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence that two mobile apps for organ donation have been launched this week in Chennai. Mohan Foundation’s e-donor app was launched on Sunday. Initially on the Android platform, and subsequently, on iOS, this app, gives you a notification that you are a donor after you have signed up to donate organs. Organs can be harvested in the event of brain death of the donor.

“Once you register, a red heart symbol will be displayed prominently on the mobile phone, indicating that you are a donor,” says Sunil Shroff of Mohan Foundation. That’s even better than wearing your heart on your sleeve – wearing it on your phone. 

Eventually, he says, a list of the hospitals where both eyes and other organs are harvested and transplanted will be available on the app, soon to be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play stores. 

Vasan Eye Care is now taking eye donation formally on to social media platforms. Anand Parthasarathy, medical director, Vasan Eye Care, says the idea is to make organ donation more popular.

Apart from the hospital’s website, there is now an option to log on to Facebook and pledge your corneas.

“There is a huge gap between demand and the number of corneas that are available today,” Dr. Parthasarthy explains. Taking the campaign onto FB will be the ideal way to take it to a larger young group that uses social media extensively, and may not be aware of organ donation yet.

Once someone pledges eyes online, the hospital will send a card to the donor.

When the eyes are ready to be donated, relatives can call the hotline: 044-43400000