It’s 6.30 p.m. in the evening. I am waiting at the Sikanderpur Railway Station. A sea of passengers (mostly daily office commuters) are waiting at the platform waiting for the train. Suddenly, a group of people with two trolleys and three handbags jostle their way to find a place amidst the hustle and bustle. A young boy who was standing close to the yellow line (the ‘pili rekha’, which one is not supposed to cross) gets pushed in a way that he comes at the edge of the platform’s end that almost makes him fall in the middle of the empty space between the two platforms. Meanwhile, the train makes a rapid entry, the boy tries to pull himself back but again gets pushed back from the crowd behind. Thankfully, an elderly man who was standing nearby pulls back the boy’s hand. The train comes to a halt, the doors open and a sea of people enters the metro and the people with luggages do not board the train. The boy shivers in shock unable to fathom the situation and nervously looks around. I hand over my bottle of water to the boy and tell him, “Not your fault bro, but be careful next time!”
Now, this kind of incidence is not uncommon in Delhi Metro. Day after day, people with their valises regularly travel till Kashmere Gate or the New Delhi Railway Station causing a huge hassle to the daily commuters. This causes a lot of inconvenience among the passengers. One has to struggle constantly, only to find a place to stand properly. The most irritating thing is when some persons sit on their luggages. As a result, when a bunch of people board from an interchanging station like Central Secretariat or Rajiv Chowk, many fall over one another resulting in a probable stampede.
The Metro authorities must take immediate steps to stop commuters with luggages from boarding the already overloaded coaches. Infact, there should be a separate coach where only those passengers with luggages should board or else it creates a ruckus during the evenings for daily office commuters.