JOIN USIn the first of its kind, the high footfall Rajiv Chowk Metro station in central Delhi will get a Delhi Police ‘assistance booth’ to tackle the rising number of complaints from passengers on the Blue and Yellow lines.
The booth, on the Dwarka-Noida City Centre/ Vaishali platform, will be launched on Tuesday and will come as a big relief to passengers who wish to approach police in distress as the station is covered by Raja Garden Metro rail police station in west Delhi.
According to Delhi Metro, Rajiv Chowk Metro station, a transfer station between the Blue Line on the upper level and the Yellow Line on the lower level, is the busiest station on the network with a ridership of over six lakh commuters per day. It is also surrounded by several high ridership stations like Central Secretariat (2,14,974), New Delhi (61,186) and Karol Bagh (37,198).
At present, passengers at these stations have to either wait for police officers from Raja Garden Metro rail police station or travel all the way to west Delhi to lodge a complaint. Senior police officers reckon the new police booth in the heart of the capital will benefit passengers who look for immediate assistance at the Metro stations.
“Police personnel from Raja Garden Metro rail police station will be available at the booth during Metro operation hours and it will also have women officers,” said Sanjay Bhatia, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways). Metro services run from 6 am till about midnight.
Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi will launch the booth on Tuesday. It is pertinent to mention that Gurgaon Police provide police assistance booths at every station from Guru Dronacharya to Huda City Centre in Gurgaon.
The 129 Delhi Metro stations, catering to approximately 25 lakh commuters every day, are covered under eight Metro rail police stations – Raja Garden, Kashmere Gate, Shashtri Park, Rithala, Qutab Minar, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Yamuna Bank and Kalkaji Mandir. They have a total strength of 209 police personnel.
In 2013, a total of 11,078 persons were detained by Metro rail police under Delhi Police Act and 1,632 persons were checked through CRIS system (Computerised Remote Identification of Suspects) in order to control crime in the Metro. A total of 15,873 persons were also challaned for travelling in ladies’ coaches, while 5,587 persons were challaned for travelling in the Metro in a drunken state.