Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal has issued notice to the Public Works Department (PWD) after finding dark spots at Bakkarwala and Baprola bus stops in the city.

In the notice sent to the Chief Engineer, South Maintenance Zone, PWD on Sunday, the DCW chief said: “On 16.12.2023, the Commission inspected Bakkarwala Crossing Bus Stop at 10:30 pm. The Commission was shocked to find that there were no lights at the bus stop. Furthermore, the street lights on that stretch of the road were non-functioning.”

She said the entire bus stop was shrouded in darkness.

Furthermore, the area in front of the bus shelter was extremely dirty and flooded with water. This made it very difficult to board and deboard buses as the passengers were forced to stand in between the main road, which made it extremely unsafe especially for women and girls.

The DCW chief said the Commission interacted with women deboarding from buses at the bus stop who mentioned that the entire area had been a dark spot for more than a year and they felt very unsafe there.

Further, the Commission inspected the stretch of Nangloi-Najafgarh road from Bakkarwala Crossing Bus Stop till Baprola School Bus Stop. The road was absolutely dark as none of the street lights were functioning.

“It was observed that many poles did not even have a streetlight, rendering the road pitch dark and unsafe,” she said.

The Commission also inspected Baprola School Bus Stops which were also pitch dark.

“When the Commission interacted with women there, they informed that the entire stretch of the road and the bus stop had remained dark for several months, which makes it extremely unsafe for them,” she said.

She asked the PWD chief engineer to inform the DCW about the reasons behind the bus stops and roads remaining dark, and since when have these street lights and bus shelter lights not been functional.

The DCW chief also asked the PWD official to state the steps taken by the PWD for ensuring safety of women at bus stops.

She sought details of officials behind maintaining the street lights, directing the PWD official to provide the information by December 23.

The Commission has sought details of complaints received since January 1, 2022 regarding dark spots at these bus stops and streets and action taken on each complaint.

The Delhi Commission for Women has been receiving several complaints regarding dark spots at bus stops in Delhi. In this regard, the Commission inspected several bus stops to assess the safety concerns for women and girls therein.