New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena & East Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir flagged off a training programme for women cab drivers on Monday. “We’ve initiated a training programme for women cab drivers in Delhi. 40 women were trained & started working as cab drivers while 50 are being trained. We have a target of training 1,000 such women” says LG Vinai Kumar Saxena
Delhi is the first city in the world to offer free public transportation to women exclusively, with the programme emphasising female empowerment and safety. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, has introduced free transportation for female passengers on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Cluster buses. In the state’s DTC and Cluster buses, women may use pink tickets.
The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System has about 3,700 DTC buses and 1,800 buses that operate under its clustering system (DIMTS).
The programme intends to increase women’s safety in Delhi while simultaneously advancing the position of women in the city’s economy, as many women are now paid less than males, perform unpaid labour, and travel far distances to work. To further increase safety on public transportation, the Delhi government has placed marshals on buses.
Earlier this month Vinai Kumar Saxena, Delhi’s governor decided to suspend 11 Excise department employees and begin disciplinary action for “severe violations,” including former Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari.
On July 22, the L-G had also suggested that the CBI will look into the 2021–22 policy. Later, the Delhi administration declared that it would resume the previous excise regime.