Taxi drivers pledge to make Delhi roads safer for women

Auto and taxi drivers on Thursday took pledge to make Delhi roads safer for women.

They took the pledge in this regard at ‘Gender Sensitization’ workshop held at the Institute of Driving and Traffic Research here.

“Delhi is among the cities where rate of crime against women is high. Several untoward incidents also happened with the women commuters in the national capital in the past few years. So the aim of this workshop is to sensitise auto and taxi drivers about the safety of their female passengers,” said clinical psychologist Monica Kumar.

According to the data provided by the Delhi Crime Bureau, a total of 15,223 cases of crime against women were reported in Delhi in 2014.

Of these, 5,683 cases were of teasing by any means amounting to 37 percent of the total cases, and 4,027 cases of kidnapping and trafficking.

Data also revealed that 2,166 cases of rape were registered in 2014 compared to 1,571 cases in 2013.

Experts present in the workshop emphasised on the need of safety of women when travelling in a cab in Delhi. They told drivers about the ways of keeping their passengers safe.

“Cab drivers should not indulge in any activity that causes any physical or mental trouble to their female passengers. They should not look at them with wrong or ill intension. They should avoid seeking personal information from them,” said an expert, adding that the drivers should also control their anger to avoid road rage cases.

The workshop was jointly organised by Maruti Suzuki and NGO Manas Foundation.