Durga Puja 2020: Metro witnesses dip in footfall compared to 2019

Kolkata: Unlike previous years, Kolkata Metro Railway witnessed a significant dip in its ridership during Durga Puja this year due to COVID- 19 pandemic.

Elaborate security arrangements were made at all the metro stations.

Maidan metro station to Central metro station, which are usually

choc a bloc under normal circumstances, wore a deserted look during Durga

Puja days.

"From October 20 to October 25, about 3,35,319 passengers availed the Metro Railway services. On October 26 (Dashami), the passenger count was 27, 283," said an official.

Last year, during the Durga Puja.i.e. Chaturthi to Navami, Kolkata Metro Railway carried a total number of 49.5 lakh passengers.

Ensuring better service, Kolkata Metro Railway also ran its services from 10 am to 10 pm in the North-South corridor from Friday to

Monday.

The trains were running at an interval of 20 minutes.

"During the Durga Puja days, the last train from both the ends (Kavi Subhash metro station and Noapara Metro station) left at 9. 30 pm," said an official.

He reiterated that in the East-West corridor trains ran at a frequency of 30 minutes from 2 pm to 8 pm.

The Kolkata Metro Railway registered the highest number of daily ridership three weeks after it resumed commercial run on October 19.

Metro services, suspended in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, re-started after a

gap of 176 days on September 14.

"October 19, 2020, the total passenger count was 86, 506. The passenger count in the North South line was 86, 111 and East West line was 395," said an official.