New Delhi: Delhi Metro and CISF on Tuesday launched a special public outreach programme to involve commuters in their bid to enhance safety, security and service quality of the popular rail network in the national capital region.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Managing Director Mangu Singh said the initiative, named 'Metro Mitra' (friends of Metro), is a "very relevant" action plan when it comes to ensuring security and quality services to the commuters of this network which witnesses close to 26 lakh footfalls in a day, across its 147 stations in the national capital region.
It aims to connect thousands of commuters with Metro officials, he said.
"The programme is aimed at enhancing the reliability, safety and security of the Delhi Metro. Commuters and other stakeholders who use Metro are very important for the overall efficacy of the operations as we and our staff cannot be everywhere," Singh said, unveiling the new campaign.
The DMRC boss said despite facing technical and human challenges in the Metro, the services were being restored in the shortest possible time.
There are a number of suicide cases that are taking place in Delhi Metro, Singh said, and this is "very unfortunate".
"We are not responsible for these (suicide cases)... But our services get affected... It is the beauty of our system that our staff restores services in quick time," he said.
Singh said these are a few examples where commuters can raise an alarm and inform Metro staff or CISF personnel about any untoward activity on the Metro premises including suspect objects lying unattended.
The chief of Central Industrial Security Forces' DMRC security unit SDD Singh said the force would urge the passengers to be their "eye and ears".
"Say something when you see something (in the Metro)," Singh, the CISF Deputy Inspector General in-charge of Metro security operations, said.
The CISF officer said improvised explosive devices (IEDs)
pose an "important" threat to Metro security.
"We would want more and more commuters to call us on our Metro control room telephone, 011-22185555, and inform us about any untoward activity in the network," he said.
DMRC and CISF now plan to hold a number of sensitisation programmes and public events to engage with the commuters more frequently.
DMRC Director (Operations) Sharad Sharma said they were concerned about the "rising" cases of suicides in Delhi Metro and theft of items like wires and other stuff, which they suspect is being conducted by outsiders.
While DMRC runs close to 12,000 Metro coaches on 147 stations covering 193-kms in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, the CISF has deployed close to 4,500 men and women to secure these premises and frisk passengers and their belongings.
