A quarter of Metro guards will be women

Woman power

The BMRCL, on November 27 floated a tender seeking contractors for providing personnel for security, operations of ticket office machines and customer care and cleaning and house-keeping services. The last date for submission of proposals is December 28.

Underlining the increasing number of working women in the metropolitican city, BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer B LY Chavan said: “The coaches will also contain signages asking the commuters to give preference to their women co-passengers.”

According to the tender document, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald, the BMRCL has a requirement of 166 security personnel just for the functioning of Reach-1. The six stations together will need 120 security personnel during the day working in two different shifts and another 30 for the night shift and the requirement for separate entries (only for BMRCL employees) is 16 making it 166.

Of the 166, a total of 60 guards will be needed only to man the entrances. Fifteen of them will be women. The document says that each station entrance needs four security guards including a woman as the baggage scanners to be installed at each entrance will alone need two of the four guards. And the other two, including the woman guard will screen commuters without baggage.

Altogether, there will be 15 entrances equipped with scanners in the six stations besides eight separate entries for the BMRCL employees.

Five trains operate on the stretch with two guards working on two different shifts and another 40 and 30 guards will be needed for the lifts, and the exit and entry gates at the stations.

Yet to be finalised

The BMRCL and the Bangalore Police are yet to finalise the security aspects for the Metro. The BMRCL, which hopes to meet the December deadline for commissioning Reach-1 is convinced it has time before the Metro begins operrating on the Byappanahalli-MG Road stretch - with the government yet to decide on commercial operations.

Chavan said: “We have had a couple of meetings with the police at the High Power Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, the police are committed to providing security for the Metro.”

On whether the Bangalore Metro will get cover from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on the lines of the Delhi metro, he said: “As far as the Bangalore metro goes, the security will be provided by the City Police.”