Ghaziabad's District Magistrate Ritu Maheshwari Is The Ultimate Safety Warrior

After being feted for successfully ushering in power distribution reforms and overcoming power thefts, Ritu Maheshwari, the District Magistrate of Ghaziabad believes in energy conservation and making the women feel safer and secure in the city. As part of the Uber NDTV Roshan Dilli Campaign we met the safety warrior to salute her commitment towards lighting the streets of Ghaziabad.

Ritu Maheshwari has worked closely in the power sector and brought changes on ground and now she is committed in lighting the dark spots of the city of Ghaziabad and converting the traditional lights into energy saving ones.

Ms. Ritu Maheshwari

“Being a woman myself, I understand the importance and need for safety and well-lit areas make a lot of difference. So we are lighting all the dark spots especially areas that are visited by women frequently”, said Ms. Maheshwari.

Ghaziabad municipal corporation (GMC) is replacing incandescent tube lights and with power-efficient LED lights for street lighting saving the corporation huge sums of money in electricity bills.

“We are replacing the traditional lights to LED ones and in areas  required putting double lights”, added Ms. Maheshwari.

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Punia Jolly has been using the metro for 4 years in the city but with better lighting outside the Shaheed Stal metro station she feels safer. Ms. Punia, a psychologist told NDTV,

“Till last year the area was dark, unsafe and there were incidences of phone snatching and robbery but with lighting I feel safer and am more alert as I can see clearly”.

Like Ms. Punia many women across the city of Ghaziabad feel safer with well-lit streets. Sarika, a homemaker shared with NDTV that,

“The shopping area and the road leading to it is well lit so I can come anytime to buy goods and not think about the safety issue”.

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After being documented in Katiyabaaz, for her dedicated drive to catch power thieves, fix tampered meters, make consumers pay their bill on time Ms. Maheshwari also developed the Urja App which is being used across the country.

“Under this, mobile app consumers receive advance notification of power outages, enabling them to plan their schedule accordingly” said Ritu Maheshwari.

Known for her courage, conviction and attention to detail, Ritu Maheshwari has spearheaded a much-needed transformation in power supply companies and by ensuring some basic steps, she is working towards women safety in the city of Ghaziabad.