The men & women between you and the train doors
new delhi: As the Violet, Green and Red Lines, some of most the crucial corridors of the Delhi Metro, resumed services on Thursday and more are set to reopen, the mass transit system's staff and officials are gearing up in anticipation of a sizeable footfall from September 12 onwards, when all the lines are thrown open to the public.
While the ridership on the first day of resumption stood at a meagre 15,500 on one corridor, commuters have steadily increased as more corridors are being opened up. On Thursday, the DMRC said 84,851 people used the Metro — a significant jump from around 53,000 the previous day.
Among those on the frontlines of managing passengers and ensuring their adherence to safety protocols are Customer Facilitator Agents (CFAs), mostly recruited on contract-basis, who guard the platform screen doors and are the go-to persons for inquiries about train routes. While these personnel dot important metro stations known for large crowds, their task in light of the pandemic has been cut out. DMRC has also said that it has deployed additional officials across stations to guide passengers.
One of them is Mithilesh Kumar (20), who came to Delhi from Allahabad a few months back hoping to get a stable job. "Though I work here to make ends meet, I like doing photography and used to work at my brother's studio back home," he said. When asked if he is satisfied with his new job, Mithilesh lamented that wages are low and irregular and one never knows when one's contract ends.
Similarly, Komal Singh (27) also used to work at a photo studio in Rohini before it caught fire around a year ago. "Initially, we are all working from our homes but the lockdown finally broke our back," he said, adding that due to a ban on huge gatherings and social events, such studios across the capital have died a slow death.
Sateesh Singh (20) another agent, manning one of the doors outside the women's coach said he started working here after the train services reopened in order to fund his BSc course through distance education from a college back in his village in Uttar Pradesh. "Even my brother is one of the agents manning platforms but I'm doing this in order to pursue my education and look for a better job after completing the course," Singh said. "My father is a farmer and he barely manages to survive on his wages so we send him some money from here".
On Thursday, the 34.4 km Red Line connecting Rithala and Shaheed Sthal Station, 29.64 km Green Line connecting Kirti Nagar/ Inderlok and Brig. Hoshiar Singh Station and the 43.28 km Violet Line connecting Kashmere Gate and Raja Nihar Singh reopened. While the majority of the stations on the Violet Line wore a desolate look, technical glitches such as lack of ATM cards among passengers and failed online transactions continued to plague services.
From Friday (today), the 37.5 km Magenta Line connecting Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden and the 4.3 KM Grey line from Dwarka to Najafgarh will reopen. As part of Stage 2 of the graded resumption of services, the timings will now be extended to a 6-hour shift from 7 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM TO 10 PM, the DMRC said in a press note.
