Ghaziabad, June 21 (IANS): The Ghaziabad police on Tuesday launched pink auto-rickshaws exclusively for women passengers to ensure their safety at night.

Flagging off the service, Ghaziabad SSP KS Emmanuel said 20 auto-rickshaws have been put on the roads in the first phase of the project. "We launched this service keeping in mind the crimes committed against women. This is a measure to counter that," Emmanuel said.

Elaborating on the project, the SSP said details about the drivers of these auto-rickshaws have been recorded by the police. Details like the name, family relationships, address, phone number and other character traits are part of the police record which can be used in case of any eventuality. 

These pink auto-rickshaws will operate in trans Hindon areas while three of them would ply from Vaishali Metro station. If the project is successful, then other auto-rickshaws will be added to the fleet, Emmanuel said. 

While these auto-rickshaws are driven by men now, in the second phase women drivers would be inducted, the SSP added.