NEW DELHI - Next time you itch to squat on the floor or lean against sliding doors aboard the metro, think again because Delhi Metro Citizen Forum’s volunteers will be patrolling the network to stop you from doing so.

The volunteers will sport a fist-sized blue and red badge with ‘Delhi Metro Citizen’s Forum’ stamped across it.

Over a hundred commuters of the Delhi Metro Sunday formally became a part of the Delhi Metro’s Citizens Forum, which aims to help the Metro administration in instilling better behaviour and discipline among the fellow commuters.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) handed the badges to volunteers after a daylong training cum orientation programme called ‘Sahyog’ held at the Metro Rail headquarters here.

‘In the training programme, volunteers were imparted training about various important aspects of Metro operation such as customer orientation, etiquette, co-operation with passengers, ticketing procedures, boarding and de-boarding from trains, security mechanisms, disaster management and cleanliness,’ said Anuj Dayal, the chief spokesman of the DMRC.

The initiative that was launched a month ago received more than a thousand applications of which 150 odd were selected.

‘After a month-long process of short listing the forms, the selected volunteers were called for today’s training programme,’ Dayal said.

DMRC intends to involve more commuters in the initiative and forms are still available with the station managers of the metro stations.

Delhi Metro recently recorded its highest daily number of passengers at 9,500,000. On an average, it ferries about 800,000 commuters everyday.

Still, the swanky Metro system faces many challenges to keep in check passengers who are accustomed to flouting rules and breaking queues.

‘In the wake of increasing ridership and the scheduled opening of many new corridors in the coming year, such cooperation from the commuters has become very important,’ Dayal said.