Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday announced two new initiatives — “Pink Booths” and all‑women mobile patrol teams — to strengthen women’s safety and boost their confidence in Kolkata.
Announcing the move on X, Banerjee said that the Kolkata Police was setting up several all‑women “Pink Booths” at key city intersections. These booths will be open from evening till midnight and will be staffed entirely by women officers, so women moving around the city can walk in at any time for help or information.
On her X post, Banerjee addressed the women of Kolkata directly, saying her “sisters in the city will be able to connect directly with the women officers of KP for any assistance in these booths.” The idea is to make the police more approachable and to give women a safe, familiar space where they can report trouble or just seek guidance without fear.
The second part of the initiative, also announced on X, is an all‑women mobile patrol force named “SHINING.”
In the same post, she wrote that several “SHINING” teams will be on duty from 8 pm to 2 am, patrolling the EM Bypass and other major city roads commonly used by working women at night. She described these routes as ones “frequently used by my working sisters during night hours,” underlining that the patrols are meant to protect women commuting from offices, hospitals, and other workplaces.
The chief minister has also used her posts and public remarks to reiterate that Kolkata remains “the safest city in the country” when it comes to crimes against women.
The new Pink Booths and SHINING patrols are being presented as an extension of that strategy, aiming to strengthen both prevention and confidence among women.
The timing of these announcements comes just days after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta targeted the Mamata government over safety and lawlessness in West Bengal during a BJP‑organised Mahila Sammelan in Kolkata.
Rekha referred to the RG‑Kar hospital doctor rape and murder case and the Durgapur rape case, claiming that conditions for women in Bengal are worse than in other states and calling it “a shame” that women are not safe in a state led by a woman CM.
