Hooters With Speakers In New DTC Buses To Aid Women’s Safety

Delhi government is focussing on women’s safety in public transport very seriously. After suggesting the free metro and bus rides for women scheme, it is now contemplating installing hooters with speakers and panic buttons in new DTC buses to equip women with machinery that will help save them from sexual harassment crimes. It will also alert the passengers about the criminal offense taking place on the bus.

The idea is such that as soon as a person finds uncivil activity taking place in the bus, they will press the panic button which will make the hooters come alive and start buzzing like a siren. It also involves an alert being sent to the central monitoring rooms. It will cause the bus to stop immediately on the street and alert the nearby police station.

“We have learned about the necessity of such a plan and we will look into the matter further. The specially formed task force for the women will also look into such proposals and idea," said an official, Millennium Post reported. Senior officials of the Delhi government have come to the conclusion that immediately informing law-enforcing authorities and the general public around can help curb the rate of such incidents.

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Every cluster and DTC buses will have at least 10 panic buttons. “After the meetings with the Delhi CM, LG, and the transport department, we have decided the first thing is to install 10 panic buttons at every bus of Delhi thereafter we will work on strengthening the women safety measures in the public transport system,” said an official. The Dialogue and Development Commission has also come up with a Task Force for Women Safety in Public Transport in Delhi in July. The commission has also helped the Delhi government by advising on key policy issues to helping make commuting safer for women travellers on public transport in the national Capital.

“After the meetings with the Delhi CM, LG, and the transport department, we have decided the first thing is to install 10 panic buttons at every bus of Delhi thereafter we will work on strengthening the women safety measures in the public transport system,” said an official.

“The task force will conduct both off and on ground reviews and monitor all existing schemes for women's safety in Delhi, and will propose new plans for strengthening women's safety in the Capital,” Jasmine Shah, Vice-Chairperson of the DDC, said. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot has supported the task force which has been entrusted with the task of evaluating and monitoring various initiatives taken by the Delhi government towards women's safety, including installation of CCTV and panic buttons in buses, and strengthening the Delhi government's flagship 'Bus Marshal scheme', which has been in place in all Government-run DTC buses since 2015.

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Around a few weeks back, Delhi Government also announced that it will soon make metro and bus rides absolutely free for women. This move of the Delhi Government is being seen as a political agenda as the Delhi assembly elections are right around the corner in 2020. The announcement has got mixed reactions from the Delhi women themselves as on one side they are lauding the effort while the other side they say it also highlights gender inequality.

Picture credit- Dailymail

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