On June 7, the process of unlocking started in Mumbai and Delhi, the two metro-polis hardest hit by the corona virus. But, the authorities have two different policies so far giving green signal to trains are concerned.
While in Mumbai local trains, considered as the lifeline of India’s commercial capital, have not got the permission to run, in Delhi the centrally air-conditioned Metro has been allowed to start its service with 50 per cent passenger capacity.
When compared to Mumbai, passengers travelling on Metro in Delhi is much less. Besides, they are fully air-conditioned and lack the scope for proper ventilation. Thus, according to experts, there is bigger threat of spread of corona for passengers travelling in Metro than those using local trains. Yet in the national capital they have been allowed to run.
Many Mumbaites are questioning the very wisdom of unlocking the country’s largest city without local trains. They can be easily heard expressing their anger over the policy to open the city in such a ridiculous way. This is causing huge problem and over-crowding in buses. Passengers have to wait for a couple of hours to get any bus. “What is the meaning of opening shops and offices in such a situation where there is absolute no scope to reach one’s destination. This only shows how far removed our rulers are from the ground reality,” one of them quipped.
In contrast to Mumbai, Delhi still has a huge fleet of buses as Metro is a relatively new phenomenon. And its network is not so thick as of local trains in Mumbai.
Apart from this, the Metro do not cater to the needs of the lowest strata of the society as they are a bit costlier.
Not only that, the local trains have been closed for much longer time in Mumbai than Metro in Delhi thus crippling the whole movement there.
No doubt there are two different authorities who take decision on Metro in Delhi and local trains in Mumbai, yet the rationale should certainly be one.
