New Delhi:
Security check queues at busy Delhi Metro stations like Rajiv Chowk and Chandni Chowk are expected to get shorter and a slew of measures are being taken to ensure safety of women.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which guards the Metro stations has decided to effectively bring down the time taken to frisk passengers and their baggage by deploying more personnel and gadgets at selected Metro stations which see a rush of commuters.
"We will be deploying extra manpower and machines at 8-10 busy stations. We have asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to give us more space at these stations so that we can enhance our logistics in order to handle the rush of passengers," CISF chief Rajiv said while interacting with journalists two days before the 44th Raising Day of the central paramilitary force.
The CISF Director General said the DMRC has some limitations when it comes to providing additional space at busy Metro stations like Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat, Chandni chowk and others but "they are trying" as much as they can.
"We have found out that during peak time it takes about 8-12 minutes to clear the rush of passengers.... We want this to be brought down to 5-6 minutes," Rajiv said.
The CISF chief also said the force has identified certain vulnerable patches in the Metro stations that need to be properly covered and brought under Close Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance.
The CISF chief added the central police force has decided to observe 2013 as year for women safety and security and a number of measures will be taken to help women in distress at these two facilities.
The DG said the force will also ensure maximum security to women at two of the most frequented public areas in the national capital-- Delhi Metro and the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).
"We are enhancing our women manpower at these two facilities and additional batches of plainclothes personnel will patrol the Delhi Metro to ensure that women are safe," he said.
About 5,000 men and women of the CISF guard the 134 Metro stations at present.
The CISF has also activated its dedicated monitoring stations in DMRC control rooms in 90 Metro stations out of the total 134 it is guarding in the national capital region which include Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad.
The freshly introduced CISF Metro helpline (011-22185555) has also started getting a number of calls related to security issues.
A senior CISF officer said calls related to unattended bags, problems to women and complaints of long queues in Metro stations have started trickling in and they are being addressed quickly.
"Last year, between May and December, 3,000 calls were received on this helpline. Almost 35-40 calls are received daily on this number on a variety of queries of which some are not seriously about security related issues," the officer
said.