The app is the State Police’s Master Control Room initiative, which people can use to seek police assistance instantly during emergencies such as eve-teasing, kidnapping or natural disasters. The police said that it would be helpful for women and senior citizens to alert the police if they were in distress. The app has been developed by Amtex Systems.

Malu Sundaram, one of the users of the application, said, “While we install many applications for games, food delivery and shopping, the importance of apps like Kavalan SOS can be understood only in case of emergencies. It may not be for daily use, but it is still crucial. So, the app should be on every mobile phone and more awareness needs to be created among the public to make use of it.”

However, some users cite hiccups such as not being able to register even after entering all the details sought. “The application should be made more user-friendly,” said another user.

Meanwhile, as many as 1,200 girl students of a private university downloaded the application in the presence of City Police Commissioner AK Viswanathan at an event to create awareness.