Delhi metro services may not resume from September 7: Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot

Only a few days back, The Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines for the Unlock 4.0, as part of the reopening process amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the services to open up under Unlock 4.0 is the metro rail, which will be available from September 7 on a graded basis.

However, according to Hindustan Times reports, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said on Sunday that metro stations in containment zones may not open as soon as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) restarts train operations from September 7.

He further added that metro tokens might not be issued as well and only passengers with smartcards would be allowed to travel by the metro. The Home guards will be deployed outside the metro stations, by the Delhi government in order to maintain social distancing and ensure that all measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease are being followed. Thermal screening of passengers will also be done at the entry.

Read: Unlock 4.0 guidelines: Metro to start operations from Sept 7; schools, colleges to remain shut till Sept 30

“We have discussed the opening of Delhi Metro and based on that, it has been decided that no tokens will be issued in Delhi Metro from September 7 until further orders. Also, not all Metro stations will open at once. Those in containment zones and a few others will not be opened immediately from the first day. The DMRC is currently preparing a list of stations, which will be opened based on footfall and other parameters. A list of stations where travel services are being restored will be made public soon,” Gahlot told Hindustan Times.

Even though the DMRC and CISF have already prepared a draft SoP of the Unlock 4.0 metro restarting guidelines, yet, the final list of the SoP will be issued by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (Mohua) soon.

“All MDs have been asked to look into SOPs prepared by Mohua earlier in view of the current realities. All suggestions will be considered in the meeting and accordingly, SOPs will be finalised,” Rajiv Jain, the spokesperson of Mohua told Hindustan Times on Saturday.

Also Read: Unlock 4.0: Will all metros reopen from September 7?

He explained that other than containment zones, “only a few other metro stations will not operate”. “In our discussions with DMRC, it was found that ensuring social distancing and managing crowd will need a lot of manpower, which is not possible if each and every station is opened at once,” he said.

There are 264 Metro stations in Delhi and as on Sunday, there were 820 containment zones.

“Inside the Metro stations, CISF and Metro security staff will ensure social distancing and face masks. Outside the stations, the Delhi government will deploy civil defence volunteers. Anyone found without a mask will be fined. Inside the Metro, a distance of 1 metre will have to be maintained between people and seats will be marked accordingly,” Kailash Gahlot said.

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Although the DMRC did not comment on their deliberations with the Delhi government, DMRC officials said that the focus of the SOPs will be to regulate footfall and ensure that only 50% of a station’s commuter footfall capacity is allowed at a time.

Anuj Dayal, executive director, DMRC, told Hindustan Times, “In the coming days, we shall focus on the preparations for the eventual resumption of services. Aspects such as the implementation of hygiene-related protocols, sensitisation of staff and other functional requirements, etc., will be looked into as per the detailed SOPs that will be issued in consultation with the ministry. We shall try to provide the best possible services to our valued commuters.”

With inputs from DHNS