Delhi is a family, and I am an elder son of family: Kejriwal

Delhi is a family, and I am an elder son of the family, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here on Monday, while speaking at the training session of 13,000 marshals deployed in the city buses for strengthening women security.

"Two crore people of Delhi are like my family. As the Chief Minister, I am like an elder son of this family. I must take care of each member of my family. It is my duty to ensure that each person gets free electricity up to 200 units for 24 hours, to provide all facilities to them for a comfortable life. It has, however, been a matter of concern for me that the women of my family do not feel safe in the city," he said.

Under the cluster scheme of the Delhi government, 13,000 bus marshals are to be deployed in the DTC and cluster buses to ensure the safety and security of women ahead of the free-travel scheme for women from October 29.

The scheme to deploy bus marshals in all the buses was rolled out by the Delhi government this year in June to put a stop to incidents of violence and eve-teasing against women in the national capital.

He said: "As the eldest son of my family, it is also my duty to ensure a safe and secure environment for all the women. It is now your responsibility to ensure that all my mothers, sisters and daughters who travel on the buses are safe and secured."

"I hope that you will serve this duty with sincerity and determination. The safety of women is the 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 from tomorrow. The Delhi government has taken several initiatives to ensure women's safety in the city," he said.

"I am happy that Delhi will be the only city in the world to have such a huge number of bus marshals deployed in a single day. 3,400 bus marshals are already working and 1,3000 bus marshals will be deployed in the buses from tomorrow," he said.

The Chief Minister said that 3,400 bus marshals have served their duties with full responsibility and excellence, because of which the people have supported us and demanded marshals in all buses in all shifts. The new marshals have to also work at par with the 3,400 marshal achievers so that the people of Delhi feel proud of us," he said.

"In a first of its kind initiative in the world, three lakh CCTV cameras have been installed all across Delhi by the government. No other city has installed CCTV cameras in such huge numbers. Two lakh street lights will be installed in Delhi starting November. I want to thank all our ministers and officials of the Delhi government, who have worked day and night to deploy all the bus marshals for this purpose," he said.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot said: "The government is continuously working on women's safety. After the installation of CCTVs and the announcement of the installation of street lights in Delhi, now marshals are being appointed for women safety in all the buses."

"I want to request all the marshals that women should feel safe just like they feel safe in their homes. We have entrusted you with a huge responsibility. 13,000 bus marshals will be appointed in a single day, which has happened in Delhi for the first time in the world," he added.

Kejriwal flagged off 104 new buses last week from Dwarka Sector-22 bus depot. The buses are well-equipped with CCTV cameras, pc buttons, GPS, etc. He said the new buses were a huge step towards providing safe and convenient transportation to the people.

( With inputs from ANI )