New Delhi :Â The number of marshals in public buses, who will be deployed to ensure the safety of women on board, will be increased to nearly 13,000, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today. Mr Kejriwal, who said the move highlighted his government’s commitment to making the national capital safe for women, also said the extra marshals would start riding the buses from Tuesday. At present, there are around 3,400 bus marshals in Delhi.
“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,” Mr Kejriwal told a group of newly-recruited marshals at a function in Delhi’s Tyagraj Stadium.
“We are committed to boosting 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 added.
The Chief Minister’s announcement comes a day before his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is to roll out a scheme that makes travel on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses free of cost for women.
Buses feature modern technology, including CCTV cameras and panic buttons for women’s safety, and hydraulic lifts for differently-abled passengers. The Chief Minister also said that a further 1,000 low-floor AC buses, suitable for boarding and alighting of differently-abled persons, elderly persons, children, and women, were being inducted into the cluster schemel
