Delhi govt proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women in the national capital: Kejriwal
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday said his government proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women in the national capital.
The proposal will be implemented within 2-3 months, he said. The move comes ahead of the assembly elections scheduled early next year.
"Women will be given free rides in DTC, cluster buses and the Delhi Metro. The government will bear their travel expenses," Kejriwal said at a press conference.
For the remaining part of this financial year, the cost of this comes to Rs 700-800 crore, he said.
Kejriwal said he has asked officials to study the proposal. The government has also sought feedback from the public. Officers have been given a week to prepare a detailed report after which a proposal will be brought in the cabinet, he said.
The step will not lead to congestion in the Delhi Metro, as the daily ridership will increase by just one lakh. Currently, 25 lakh people travel by metro daily, he said.
He also said that his government accords top priority to women safety and has passed a tender to install 1.50 lakh CCTV cameras across the city.
"A survey for 70,000 CCTVs has been completed and these will be installed by December. A proposal for another 1.40 lakh cameras in under consideration," he said.
As many as 1.50 lakh CCTV cameras will be installed in government-run schools by November, Kejriwal added.
At a public meeting on Saturday, the chief minister had said his government was considering to make metro and bus travels free for women in Delhi "to encourage them to use public transport".
Kejriwal had also said his government is in touch with city's power regulator to bring down fixed charge component of electricity bill.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
