Congress buys tickets, people from districts experience debut metro ride

Thousands from rural Karnataka were elated on Monday to ride the Metro for the first time, thanks to a rally organised by Congress.

The party had bought 80,000 Namma Metro tickets for those participating in its Freedom March to mark India’s 76th Independence Day.

Party workers and supporters arrived in the city from 16 districts, spanning Chamarajanagar in the south to districts in the north. They entered the Metro stations at Kengeri, Byappanahalli and Nagasandra.

Many were thrilled to step into the spic-n-span metro trains. “I travelled from Rajajinagar to the Kempegowda station. The train was packed with people from north Karnataka,” Jayanna K, a regular metro rider, told DH.

Security guards had a tough time stopping people from walking to the edge of the platforms. When the trains arrived, such was the clamour that the guards had to push the crowds away for the doors to open and close.

In some cases, the first coaches, reserved for women, filled up with men pushed to the front by crowds milling in subsequent coaches.

Ananya, who travelled from Deepanjalinagar to Trinity Circle in the afternoon, said all coaches on the train she took were full except for the one in front.

“The women, mostly from rural areas, wanted to know how we buy tickets. Some were shocked to know that the fare goes up to Rs 60. Some didn’t know where to get off and kept asking me,” she said.

The Congress rally started at KSR Railway Station and culminated at National High School grounds in Basavangudi.

Towards the evening, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) officials estimated that the ridership for Monday could cross 6 lakh.

“The trains were packed. We usually run 132 trips a day. On Monday, the number could cross 170,” said A S Shankar, BMRCL executive director (operations and maintenance).

The National College station continued to swell with people returning from the Congress event till late evening. Regular passengers, especially those travelling for work, looked for cabs or autorickshaws. Inside the station, the crowds overwhelmed the staffers who kept the automatic fare collection gates open to clear the rush. “It soon became difficult to check the paper tickets. We had to open the gates to facilitate the movement of people and keep the operations running,” an official
said.

At Lalbagh, those returning from the flower show added to the rush.