Senior citizens demand bridge to connect Noida Metro's Aqua and Blue Lines

Noida: Citing the hardships faced by commuters, senior citizens have demanded that a connecting bridge be built to link Sector 51 station of Noida Metro's Aqua Line with the nearby Blue Line of the Delhi Metro.

The 29.7-km Aqua Line runs between Sector 51 and Depot stations.

At present, commuters have to exit at Sector 51 station and walk nearly 200 metres on an under-construction road to take the Blue Line at Sector 52 station, said Ajay Chaturvedi, a resident of Sector 137.

"What is more painful is that commuters need to get themselves frisked again to board the Blue Line, thus consuming a lot of time," said Chaturvedi, a senior citizen.

He demanded that the Noida Metro Rail Corporation consider building a bridge to connect the two stations.

"I do not understand why the Noida Metro Rail Corporation is causing such a big trouble to senior citizens and women travelling with children to walk on a road to board the Blue Line. They must build a bridge as early as possible," Chaturvedi said, adding that he has given a suggestion in this regard officially to the Noida Metro authority.

People can take e-rickshaws, run by Noida rail corporation at free of cost, at Sector 51 to go to the Blue Line station.

However, commuters complain that during peak hours or late in the night the e-rickshaws are unavailable. Moreover, the road these e-rickshaws ply is filled with dust as construction is under way.

"The availability of e-rickshaws are inadequate. One cannot wait for them during peak or late in night. E-rickshaws provided by Noida metro rail authority ply on the narrow under-construction road. They should have completed all this basic work before starting the metro services," said Ashish Saxena, another senior citizen from Noida.

Unavailability of seamless connectivity between the Aqua and Blue Lines is proving to be a major hurdle for thousands of commuters of Noida who travel to Delhi daily.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had inaugurated Noida Metro in January this year. There are 21 stations on the corridor 15 in Noida and six in Greater Noida.