Ahead of the Assembly Election that is due in the capital city early next year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced free travel in Delhi metro, DTC buses and cluster buses for women. ANI confirmed the news in a tweet that said:
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot has spoken to DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) and DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) to submit a proposal in a week. According to reports, the plan is to implement the same within the next 2-3 months once the Delhi cabinet passes the scheme. The Delhi government will bear all the expenses of the project.
Furthermore, Kejriwal has confirmed that this subsidy won’t be imposed on anyone. Women who can afford to buy tickets are encouraged to do so.
“Right now our concern is the safety of women. There are questions regarding the metro, but we will let you know how the proposal evolves at every step,” said Kejriwal during today’s press conference about the scheme.
Meanwhile, Indian citizens are serving up their opinions on Twitter. While some are all for it with the opinion that finally, transportation won’t be a reason holding our women back.
But there are several women and men, known to be loud and proud feminists, who are calling it a token move that won’t help really help empower women. The counter-argument to which is that they might not be keeping in mind, that working women from the economically weaker sections of society would now be able to use the services of the metro. It would make the mode of transport available to so many more women.
The majority has contrasting views such as:
#DelhiMetro is the trending hashtag today on Twitter with people, from not just Delhi but all over the country, voicing their opinions. What is yours?
According to reports, around 30 lakh people in Delhi commute by metro and 42 lakh by buses every day.
Featured Image: DMRC
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