New Delhi: Helmets are now mandatory for Women in National Capital. The government of Delhi had issued the notification on Thursday which made it mandatory helmet for women if they are travelling on a two-wheeler. Meanwhile Sikh women have been exempted from the rule on religious background.
Ullhas PR, a social activist who filed a PIL to make helmets mandatory, said the traffic police should penalise all women on the spot. “The Sikh women should go to the court to prove their identity. It will serve as a deterrent.”
Under the Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules, 1993, it was “optional for women whether riding pillion or driving a motor cycle to wear a protective headgear”, said a senior transport department official.
Official said, “We have now amended that rule and replaced the word ‘women’ with ‘Sikh women’, thus making it mandatory for all other women to wear a helmet while travelling on a two-wheeler.”
The Delhi government had earlier made helmets mandatory for everyone in 1998 but following objections from the Sikh community, the government had made it optional for women in 1999.
On the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, the transport department had earlier issued a draft notification and had invited opinions from the general public. The department had got 79 objections and 22 of them had come from Sikh organisations, seeking exemption for Sikh women.
Meanwhile officials agree that it will be difficult to implement this order.
A senior transport department official said, “Any woman can claim she is Sikh. With the order, there should have been a list of documents that a Sikh woman should be carrying to prove her identity while travelling on a two-wheeler.”
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