In an effort to enhance security on its buses, particularly for women, the Delhi Transport Corporation has decided to equip them with automated public announcement systems and CCTV cameras. It would also continue to deploy Home Guards on the night services.
The Corporation has drawn up plans to make regular announcements that would encourage women to complain to the conductors in case of any misbehaviour or untoward incident.
To begin with, the facility would be provided in 300 buses and later expanded to the entire fleet. In addition, nearly 200 buses will be brought under CCTV surveillance from within.
The process for this exercise has already begun. “By the end of the month, both the services may well be in place,” said Debashree Mukherjee, chief managing director of DTC.
She said to provide safer travel for women, the DTC is also open to adding more buses on its night services (11 pm to 4 a.m.) “if there is a demand”. At the moment, there are 900 such buses already running on 90 routes.
In the aftermath of the December 16 gang-rape case, the Corporation had also started providing two Home Guards on the night services and DTC would continue to pay their salaries, the CMD said.
Ms. Mukherjee said of the 11,000 buses that are required in Delhi, DTC would run 5,500 while an equal number under the Orange cluster scheme would be provided by DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multimodal Transit System).
“We are in the process of replacing 1,800 old buses. Out of these 300 to 400 will be air-conditioned buses. The tendering process is on.”
In collaboration with DIMTS, DTC will also be equipping 3,000 of its buses with the GPS system shortly. “GPS has already been installed in 1,200 buses and it gives the exact location and speed details of the buses, thereby helping in their monitoring,” the CMD said.
