The Capital will see deployment of as many as 13,000 marshals for strengthening women’s safety aboard State-run buses, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on the eve of the roll-out of free bus rides for women commuters here on Monday.
The number of marshals on buses being operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), including those running under the cluster scheme, will be increased by nearly 10,000 on the auspicious occasion of Bhai Dooj on Tuesday, he said.
“Today, I am entrusting you all with a responsibility to ensure safety of women in each government bus and generate confidence in them so that they feel the comfort of a home in our buses,” he told a gathering of newly-recruited bus marshals at the Thyagaraj Stadium.
“Tomorrow [Tuesday] is the auspicious day of Bhai Dooj ; and tomorrow, the number of marshals on our buses will increase to nearly 13,000...We are committed to boost security of women in Delhi. And I don’t think the level at which we have scaled up the strength of bus marshals, it has been done in any city in the world,” he said further.
He said that the two crore people of Delhi were like a close-knit family and he, as Chief Minister, was “like an elder son of this family.”
The 3,400 bus marshals, currently deployed on public buses in the Capital, had served their duties with “full responsibility and excellence” because of which the people of Delhi had supported the government and demanded marshals in all buses in all shifts.
“As the elder son of this family, it is my duty to ensure a safe and secure environment for all the women. It is now your [marshals’] responsibility to ensure that all my mothers, sisters and daughters who travel on the buses feel safe and secure and feel the safety they feel at home in buses,” he said, adding that he hoped that these officials would “serve their duty with sincerity and determination.”
“The safety of women is most important for us and women should feel safe at all times. Because we are a family, we have to ensure a safe place for each other. On the occasion of Bhai Dooj , the Delhi government will implement a free bus ride scheme. The new marshals have to also work on par with the 3,400 marshals so that the people of Delhi can feel proud of us,” he added.
