Commuters sweat it out as escalators idle at Plaza concourse

Even almost a month after the inauguration of the Plaza concourse which connects the MG Road Metro station from Church Street, the escalators remain non-functional much to the inconvenience of commuters, especially the elderly and the children who are forced to climb the stairs to reach the platform.

The escalators were working on the day the concourse was inaugurated by M Naveen Kumar, director (finance), BMRCL, on October 20. The very next day, the director (finance) was shocked to see that the escalators were not functioning.

The following day, an inquiry was marked and the officials were asked to ensure that the escalators start working as soon as possible so that passengers can avoid the staircases. Despite this, the escalators have remained non-functional ever since. To make matters worse, though there is a provision for lift, as of now it is not ready.

Kumar told Deccan Herald, “ I inquired into the matter the next day officially, after I travelled on the Metro. I was told that the guard rail was being welded. I was assured that it will be fixed in a day or so and after that, the escalators will start functioning. I will have it checked,” he said.

B L Y Chavan, general manager (operations) of BMRCL, told Deccan Herald, “These are teething problems which are being taken care of. There were some safety issues involved, which have been sorted out now. The escalators will function Monday onwards.”

Chavan said that the lift will take two to three months to be ready as the work is still going on.

However, it is the passengers who have to suffer because of the delay. Sunitha P, a regular passenger from Indiranagar to MG Road on the Metro, said, “Two years ago, I had met with a serious accident while crossing the CMH Road, in front of my house. After that I am very scared to cross the roads. Earlier, whenever I came to MG Road and had to cross the road, I would wait for minutes together. Thankfully, the concourse opened after a long wait. It would have been nice if they had also ensured that escalators function, so as to benefit the passengers,” she said.