Mumbai Metro 'Gutkafied' within a week of launch? Netizens lament lack of civic sense

The newly launched underground metro in Mumbai, named Aqua Line, has been making headlines once again for the red gutka stains on the platform. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a week ago on his two-day visit to the financial capital.

A user on X (formerly known as Twitter) shared images of red stains on the platform, with the caption, "Mumbai Metro Line 3 Day. Divided by States, united by spit," as they replied to another of set of images shared by a different X user showing platforms of the Patna Metro.

This Aqua Line image sparked outrage among social media users, many recommending to punish the ones responsible and monitor CCTV surveillances.

A user commented, "Govt doesn't want a solution for this. They are totally ok with it because enforcing basic civic sense and banning gutkha will have political costs."

A user also shared, "High time paan and gutka are banned for sale in public places . Apart from causing diseases and dirt, they achieve nothing."

Another user mentioned, "possible that this may from construction phase as well and cleaning not done properly. In Other lines these stains are not visible," saying how the red stains are not seen in other lines.

Some users stated how these are happening in other cities as well, with Patna Metro in focus. The original post, to which the X user replied to with images of the Aqua Line, stated, "Just two days later, these pictures of the Patna Metro will captivate your mind."

With a similarity in the two situations, social media users are calling for accountability and government intervention to make public commute spaces cleaner.

"Strict check for Pan, Gutka, Bidi, Cigarettes, Lighters, Machis must be deployed at Metro Station entrances! Easy to tackle with stricter vigilance. Stricter fines if anyone still tries to act smart!" a reply read, indicating the need for stricter regulations.