Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has rightly formulated norms against passengers sitting on floors of metro-rails. But it should be properly notified by writing inside the metro-trains mentioning possible punishment for violating the rules. Even announcement in this regard in metro-trains is not adequate and proper where it is in form of request and not as warning of an offence.
I saw a policeman suddenly boarding metro-train at Patel Chowk station at about 7 am on May 4, 2018, and taking out all those sitting on the floor. Some of them might have been regular passengers knowing well about the rule. But it was certainly unfair to those who were put in great trouble of police-harassment in morning hours when they were going to join their duty. It might have cost them in terms of salary-loss also because unnecessary time during police interrogation apart from mental torture.
DMRC should install proper display-boards in the interior of metro-trains warning against sitting on floors. Announcement-system inside metro-trains should be modified firstly to make it in form of warning rather than request, and secondly increasing frequency of announcement for voluntary compliance in this regard. Even some fine can be notified properly against sitting on floors of metro-trains.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
