New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS): To ensure safety of women in the public transport, number of marshals deployed in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses will be increased to around 13,000.

"From tomorrow (Tuesday), marshals are being deployed in every bus for providing safety to women. These 13,000 marshals will also help sick people and deal with any other emergency situations. Delhi is the only state where marshals are being deployed for the safety of people," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said here on Monday.

Addressing newly recruited bus marshals at the Tyagraj Stadium, Kejriwal said he was assigning them with duty to ensure safe ride for women in buses. Make them comfortable in buses, he told marshals.

The announcement has come a day before the rollout of the scheme to provide free ride to women in DTC and cluster buses. The move would help achieve government commitment towards boosting security of women in Delhi, he added.

Recalling his 'free-ride' announcement made on the day of Raksha Bandhan, Kejriwal said he had gifted it to his sisters, which would ensure their safety.

Calling himself elder son of the Delhi family, Kejriwal said his government would bear the cost of commuting in DTC buses of his sisters, mothers and daughters.

Kejriwal said, new buses, which had features, like CCTV cameras and panic buttons, would be a big step in providing safe and convenient services to women on public transport.

The new buses also had the facility of hydraulic lifts for differently-abled passengers, he added.