Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, ministers take metro to work after PM's save fuel appeal

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her ministers travelled by metro, electric bus and e-rickshaw to work on Monday under the government. The move followed the prime minister's appeal to conserve fuel.

In Short

• Rekha Gupta travelled from Kashmere Gate to ITO with cabinet colleague
• Minister Ashish Sood took metro from INA to Civil Lines then took an e-rickshaw
• Other ministers also used the metro service to commute to work

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta led by example as she travelled entirely by public transport on Monday, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for fuel conservation.

Gupta boarded Delhi Metro from Kashmere Gate station on the Violet Line near her official residence on Raj Niwas Marg. She was accompanied by Social Welfare Minister Ravindra Singh Indraj. They travelled to ITO station near the Delhi Secretariat. She also took a DTC electric bus during the commute.

Her cabinet colleagues and senior government officers also used the metro to commute to work, as part of the Delhi government’s ‘Metro Monday’ initiative aimed at conserving fuel and reducing pollution.

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood travelled from INA to Civil Lines via Delhi Metro and then took an e-rickshaw from the metro station to Raj Niwas Marg to attend an interaction with heads of schools from Zones 7, 8 and 9 of North and North West-A districts.

Cabinet ministers Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh also took the metro to reach their destinations.

“All of us public representatives are making efforts at our respective levels to contribute to the national interest,” Gupta posted on X.

“I also urge all Delhi residents to contribute to this effort for fuel conservation, pollution control, and the national interest by adopting the metro, buses, and carpooling wherever possible. Under ‘Metro Monday,’ public transport has been used today; I request you to use it as well,” she added.

Metro Monday is a Delhi government initiative launched after PM Modi urged citizens to save fuel. The appeal comes against the backdrop of the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade route through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes, due to the Iran war.

Following the prime minister’s appeal, the Delhi government has intensified efforts to encourage the use of public transport. CM Rekha Gupta launched the 90-day ‘Mera Bharat, Mera Yogdan’ fuel-saving campaign, which includes a two-day work-from-home policy for all Delhi government employees and greater use of public transport.

As part of the campaign, the Delhi Transport Corporation will operate special buses for government employees to travel from their homes to the nearest metro stations and onward to the Delhi Secretariat.

The buses will operate during morning and evening peak office hours, beginning at 9 am and again between 5 pm and 8 pm for the return commute. Around 54 buses will be deployed under the special service.

- Ends