Roshan Dilli - A Campaign To Light Up Public Spaces In Delhi And Make The City Safer For Women

The Court Chowk road in Saket in New Delhi gets deserted after 6pm in the winter and 7pm in the summer. Most people, especially women, chose to  avoid this road,  the reason being absence of street lights. Street lights may or may not have a direct correlation to crime rate, but one thing's for sure; lights tend to make people feel safer. According to NGO Safetipin; one of the key parameters for raising the levels of safety standards is ensuring well-lit roads and for this Uber and NDTV have launched the Roshan Dilli campaign.

The Court Chowk road in Saket, New Delhi

We approached the Delhi government and over the last week three key parts of Delhi near Pragati maiden, Kashmiri Gate and Rajghat have been lit up.

Keen to tackle the non-functional street lights, the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government has also come forward to repair faulty lights, in addition to lighting up the dark spots.

Another key area where lights have come on is the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg.

Repairing of faulty lights and lines has been done. Anuj Yadav, Supervisor, Tower Wagon told us, "It takes about 20 minutes to fix a light though it depends what the problem is from a fused bulb to carbon in the cable or MCB failure. 

NDTV walked on the Court Chowk road after sunset, which used to be pitch dark till three weeks ago, but now with the street lights on, the difference is visible. This is only the beginning. Going forward the 'Roshan Dilli' campaign hopes to partner with corporates as well to ensure that more streets can be lit up.

We also visited the SDMC parking area behind the DLF Saket Malls which is a prime shopping hub of the capital. It had many dark spots, in fact in certain parts it used to be pitch dark. In addition to darkness there were additional challenges during rains, making it very difficult for people to use these dark spots.

Seher, who runs a stall in the mall every weekend said, “I actually ask the parking person to escort me till I park as I feel very unsafe walking alone as there is no lighting”.

Being a shopping, the mall has many visitors be it to watch films, shop or dine. Gunjan a regular visitor to the mall feels insecure in the dark. “What if someone is drinking in their cars? I think proper lighting is a must to make us feel safer”, said Gunjan.

In fact a family had come to watch a movie in the evening. Anhan said, “As a man also I feel a well-lit place gives one a secure feeling. Even a man can get mugged or bitten by a dog”. Shreya had come with her brothers for the film hence felt safe. “I would never come at night alone as its so dark and dingy”, she said.

DLF is partnering with 'Roshan Dilli' campaign to ensure the area around DLF shopping mall is well lit. Mukhtt Dogra, told us, “DLF believes in lighting up the periphery so that a feeling of safety and security is felt".

NDTV saw the first lamp post go up, and DLF has committed to lighting up the entire stretch within 20 days. While new installations are being done, faulty lines are being fixed and lights are being put up. Let us all come together to light up the dark spots across the capital and make the women in the capital feel safer.