Long queues were back at Metro stations, especially near business centres and residential areas, as the government imposed a fresh travel advisory.
New rules that came into effect on Wednesday allow Metro trains to operate at 50 per cent seating capacity, leading to long lines outside several stations, especially key ones like Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House and ITO.
Payal Sinha, a student who had to travel from Lakshmi Nagar to Karol Bagh, said, “This is being done to ensure less contact among people inside trains. But the exposure has only increased due to long queues outside the stations. So I don’t understand if it is of any use.”
The DMRC network’s current span is nearly 392 km with 286 stations (including the Noida–Greater Noida Metro Corridor and Rapid Metro, Gurgaon). Queues were also seen in NCR town stations.
The DMRC had earlier said that entry into Metro stations will be regulated by restricting the number of gates to ensure compliance with the guidelines. Out of 712 gates, 444 will be kept open as of now.
Pratham, who had to board a train from Connaught Place, said, “Instead of closing gates they should keep all of them open even if the entry is restricted. Keeping a few gates open causes long queues and leads to people coming into close contact.”
He said that the government should exert pressure on offices to allow people to work from home since many people do not want to venture out. “Many are left with no option as companies have a tendency to operate from offices even if work can be done from home. ”
“I cannot afford a private vehicle, so if they are imposing restrictions on travel, they should also regulate the crowd by ensuring that companies allow work from home,” he said.
The DMRC in a statement said “As part of the intensified measures for containing Covid spread, 15 flying squads have been deployed across the Delhi Metro network to ensure that the Covid safety protocol is strictly adhered to by the passengers inside trains and premises. The frequency of checking drives is also being increased to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines and offenders are also being penalised on the spot.”
Announcements according to the new guidelines are being made inside trains and on station premises frequently.
Due to the strict enforcement of social distancing norms, passengers are advised to plan their journey in advance and allow some additional time for their commute. They should travel by the Metro only if absolutely necessary, the DMRC said.
Another problem that people had to face across Delhi was the long wait at bus stations as it was running at 50 per cent capacity. This led to buses not stopping at several stoppages. Crowds at bus stations were a common sight and even disrupted the moving traffic in areas like Shakarpur and Nirman Vihar.
Gayathri, who works in a shop at Nirman Vihar and had to go to Dwarka by bus, said, “It has been an hour since I arrived. Buses in my route are either not stopping or denying entry, claiming they cannot board more passengers as it is already full.”