Dark spots at Delhi bus stops: DCW chief Maliwal issues notice to PWD

New Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal on Sunday issued a notice to the Public Works Department after it found dark spots at Bakkarwala and Baprola bus stops here during an inspection. In its notice, the women's panel sought reasons for the bus stops and roads being dark, details of steps taken to fix street lights, officials responsible for their maintenance and complaints received regarding dark spots at the bus stops since January 1, 2022.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has been asked to submit its response by December 23.

'The DCW has been receiving several complaints regarding dark spots at bus stops in Delhi. On Saturday, we inspected Bakkarwala crossing bus stop at 10:30 pm and found that there were no lights at the bus stop. Furthermore, the street lights on that stretch of the road were not functioning. The entire bus stop was shrouded in darkness,' the commission said in its notice to the PWD.

The DCW interacted with women alighting at the bus stop and they said that the entire area has been a dark spot for 'more than a year' now and they felt very 'unsafe' there.

The commission also inspected the Nangloi-Najafgarh road stretch from Bakkarwala crossing bus stop to Baprula School bus stop.

"The road was absolutely dark as none of the street lights were functioning. It was observed that many poles did not even have a street light, rendering the road pitch dark and unsafe. The commission also inspected Baprula School bus stops which were also pitch dark," the notice stated.

With Maliwal sending a second notice to the PWD in as many days, the Delhi BJP said the DCW chairperson is 'trying to prove' that the PWD minister is 'not attending to women safety issues.'

"Swati Maliwal should directly take up the matter with PWD Minister Atishi or Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to whom she has easy access to. It seems something is wrong in AAP leaders personal equations and Swati Maliwal is trying to prove that the PWD minister is not attending to women safety issues," Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said.