Hyderabad: With the jubilant junta wanting to experience the first-day-Metro-Rail ride away from the Metro stations now, the real travellers who are probably going to make the Metro rail a part of their lives emerged on the second day.
The trains were jam packed post noon, and the crowds at the main stations of Ameerpet, Paradise, Secunderabad, Nagole, Miyapur and Kukatpally were humungous.
Mr Shivanand Nimbargi, managing director and chief executive officer of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited explained, “On the first day, we saw a lot of people hopping on for a joyride. There was a major rush of commuters to Miyapur as people wanted to see the inaugural plaza and the flower decorations at the station. But on the second day, the profile of the crowd is different. These are working people, families, people who want to go from Ameerpet to Secunderabad station and those who are seriously looking at using the metro for travel. But, we will get a clearer picture only after three months, when we will be able to gauge the profiles of the actual commuters who will ultimately use the Metro rail.”
Maximum travellers are still using tokens and not the smart cards and this shows that people are still in the experimenting phase. Teething problems with machines, smart card swiping and also server issues could be seen even on the second day.
A senior officer explained, “The increased crowd made the volunteers at the station jittery as they were finding it difficult to manage them. Hence, there was a major counselling session carried out on Thursday on the second day. Private security along with uniformed police constables are manning every station at the platform level so that people behave themselves and do not indulge in mischief.”
The total tally of the first day of metro travel has shown 2 lakh passengers.
N.V.S. Reddy, managing director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited explained, “This is a record for any Metro rail on the first day of commercial operations. We have touched one lakh people on Thursday, that is, on the second day. But, we want to make it clear that safety and security is of prime importance and we are monitoring the situation closely. There were people in drunken state at Miyapur, Uppal, ESI Hospital, Eraggada who were apprehended and warned. There were no breath analyzers to test them but their behaviour was very bad which led to their detention.” For this reason, the presence of police constables is now being felt.
