Govt gets 2,000 home guards

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Earlier, the home guards were not released by the Delhi Police as it said they were engaged in police work. Now, they will be deployed as marshals in buses to ensure the safety of women. “The Mahila Suraksha Dal can now take off with marshals being deployed in buses,” a source said.

Finance secretary S N Sahai also allocated funds to the DTC to pay salaries to these marshals. However, during the meeting, it was submitted that the DTC has been delaying salaries to home guards — who have been posted with the DTC since the December 2012 gangrape — for the past four to six months. Sahai then promised to pay the salaries to the home guards on time.

The AAP had promised to provide marshalls on buses with regard to the security of women, part of its 70-point action plan for the city. “We made a promise to the people of Delhi that every bus will have a marshal, especially at night, to make them feel safe while using public transport. We promised to do so as soon as we came to power but the implementation was delayed,” a party leader said.

The AAP government has planned to recruit 11,000 marshals. “Constructive discussion to resolve issues have shown the AAP government that work can be done without confrontation. There is always a solution,” an official said.