There is a big good news for the people of Delhi. The state has got 300 new electric buses. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday flagged off 300 new zero emission electric buses included in the fleet of Delhi Transport Corporation. These include 195 'Devi' class 9 meter long electric buses and 105 state-of-the-art 12 meter long electric buses. On this occasion, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Sardar Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Cabinet Ministers of Delhi Government were present.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the buses that have been included in the fleet today will be low-floor, AC buses that will provide safe, convenient and disabled-friendly travel to the passengers. Every bus is equipped with CCTV cameras, panic button, real-time GPS tracking, passenger information system and other modern safety and smart features. These buses with zero tailpipe emissions will play an important role in improving Delhi's air quality, reducing carbon emissions and providing a quiet, comfortable and eco-friendly travel experience to the citizens.
With the induction of these new buses, Delhi's public bus fleet has reached approximately 6,600 buses, which includes 4,845 electric buses and 1,755 CNG buses. Delhi government aims to create a modern fleet of about 14,000 buses by the year 2028-29.
According to the Delhi Government, with the aim of providing strong infrastructure for the operation of electric buses, modern electric bus depots built in Narela Sector A-1 and A-4, Rithala and Kohat Enclave were also inaugurated today. Parking capacity of 250 Devi Electric buses is available in Narela Sector A-1 and A-4 Electric Bus Depot. Modern parking bays, internal roads, world class facilities for operation and maintenance have been developed in the depot, which will further strengthen Delhi's electric mobility.
Similarly, modern facilities like administrative building, service pit, repair shop, washing pit, store, security room and power sub-station have been developed in Kohat Enclave Electric Bus Depot with parking capacity of 30 electric buses. This depot will especially strengthen feeder and last mile connectivity. At the same time, parking capacity of 90 electric buses is available in Rithala Electric Bus Depot. Equipped with modern maintenance facilities, this depot will provide new strength to the efficiency and reliability of electric bus operations in Delhi.
On this occasion, a state-of-the-art four-lane automated testing station developed at Nand Nagari DTC Depot was also inaugurated in the direction of making road safety scientific and transparent. In this centre, fully automated fitness testing of heavy, light and two-wheelers will be done. The capacity for fitness testing of 52,000 heavy and light vehicles and 20,000 two-wheelers every year has been developed here. At this centre, all checks like brakes, suspension, headlight alignment, side slip, emission levels and underbody inspection will be done with modern technology without human intervention. This will increase transparency, strengthen road safety and DTC will also receive non-fair revenue every year.
During the program, Amit Shah also laid the e-foundation stone of the state-of-the-art high security jail located in Narela. This project will be included in the most modern and technology based high security jails of the country, which will further strengthen the security system of the capital. Funding of Rs 100 crore for this project is being provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and the remaining amount is being provided by the Government of Delhi. More than 250 prisoners can be kept exclusively in this complex.
This high security jail, different from the traditional jail system, will be based on state-of-the-art technology and global security standards. Its radial-axial design will ensure monitoring of each wing from a central control point, while each inmate will have separate cells, minimizing the possibility of any interaction, gang networking or security risks.
According to the Delhi government, facilities like AI-based CCTV surveillance system, body-worn cameras, biometric access control, automated locking system, full body scanner, X-ray baggage scanner, mobile signal jammer, video conferencing facility, in-house court complex, anti-tunneling technology and state-of-the-art command and control center will be developed in this jail. Each cell will have independent facilities like toilet and bathroom, which will prevent unnecessary movement of prisoners. This project will set a new standard in security, surveillance, quick response and technology-based prison management.
