Even after 15 years of its operation, the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) is yet to find a permanent solution to the recurrent problem of technical snags, women safety, unhygienic washrooms, malfunctioning electronic panel display and many others. With an increase in fare, this situation is unacceptable, echoes the commuters.
"I am a daily commuter but recently, I have experienced a virtual nightmare. I was with my 4-year-old son and had boarded the metro at Vaishali station to reach Uttam Nagar. Due to a technical snag, I got delayed for over a year and found no public transport," said one such commuter, Preeti Sangwan.
Technical Snag
According to the union urban development ministry, on an average Delhi Metro service halts or gets delayed more than once every day. In 2013, the total number of such incidents is numbered at 496.
Meanwhile, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu in a written reply in Lok Sabha stated that until July 2014 there were 297 incidents of technical snags. The DMRC the minister had mentioned that over 50 per cent of the incidents last year were caused due to problems in signaling and rolling stock.
Unhygienic Toilets & Non-functional Escalators
The Mandi House and other metro stations have problems like sanitation and also have non-functional escalators and lifts. During a recent day-long survey, Millennium Post found that at Kashmiri Gate metro station, the escalators were not functioning in addition to lack of cleanliness in toilets and poor general upkeep. Same situation was found at Mandi House, Rajiv Chowk, Anand Vihar, Laxmi Nagar and Jasola, ITO ( Gate No- 5)
The commuters complained about the unhygienic condition of toilets facilities on the premises. Also, the washrooms are located in the outmost corners which render them inaccessible for commuters.
Electronic Display Panel
The electronic panel meant to display the destinations inside the metro coaches is just put up for the show. Also, it came to notice that the destinations shown in the 'electronic panel' are often incorrect. The lights inside the coaches going off have also reported time to time.
"On several occasions, when electronic panel installed inside the metro coaches do not show the destination, the commutes who are already puzzled are left to the mercy of the recorded announcement. That too, on many occasions comes out in muffled voice," said Rahul Puri, Manager, CHIEL.
Women safety
A majority of women do not feel safe while travelling in the Delhi Metro. Most of them have to face the verbal and physical harassment even in reserved coaches. These women coaches are occupied by the male too. "We face a lot of harassment while travelling with male passengers in crowded trains. After 10 p.m at Kashmiri Gate to Dilshad Garden line, most of the reserved coaches are occupied by the male passengers. No marshal, no female squad are available to the help of female commuters," said commuter, Tripti Gautam.
Display wrong information
"I am a daily commuter of Delhi metro. On several occasions, I have noticed that Metro first announced the last station of Dwarka but later it ended at Dwarka More," said Aman Joshi. Also, the information of electronic panels that shows the remaining time for next metro arrival suddenly changes the timings.