Delhi Metro is helpless

In this post I am going to criticize Delhi Metro.

But, before that I must confess that I am a great admirer of the organization for the service it provides. Not that it does not do any wrong, but rather it keeps its errant behavior, like it justified reserving one coach out of four for women on the false claim that women comprise 25% of the total ridership, to a minimum. By the way, now that about 50% of the trains on the Blue and Yellow lines are of 6 cars, what exactly is the percentage of women riders on the metro, considering that it is still only one car per train!

Leave that aside. The uncertainty that used to afflict my daily commute by road is almost a thing of the past with the Delhi Metro delivering punctual service beyond what Indians are entitled to. No wonder, I have almost forgotten how exasperating and unreliable road travel – by car, bus, autorickshaw – is in Delhi. The frequency of trains during peak hours instills confidence, and one can indeed plan for timely arrival within sharp tolerances. It is nearly nine years since the service started and though the system may be fraying at the edges at places, it is still something to be admired, particularly how neat and clean things are. Sure, crowd behavior can be much better but that is something one should not hold against DMRC.

Now, I am entitled to make some disgruntled noises.

In the Mahabharata war, Abhimanyu easily entered the enemy’s military formation but did not know how to get out after slaying the enemies in battle. At DMRC stations, it is very difficult to get into the station or out of it, but within the system it is smoothness personified, no conflicts! Battle outside and peace inside!

The major point of contention is the chaos at the entrances to the stations. While this is an epidemic, I will limit myself to my home station, Paschim Vihar (East) on the Green line between Mundka and Inderlok/Kirti Nagar. This station is of particular relevance to the points I wish to make.

The station building spans across the road and the entrance to it on one side is right smack in front of the main gate of an educational institution – Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Management and Research (BVIMR). Even if you do not believe me on where it is located vis-à-vis the metro station, please read what the institution claims in its website – “Only institute in NCR with attached Metro station” [1] (You may sense an ownership claim on the station by BVIMR). Just like a hotel room comes with an attached bathroom, this institute comes with an attached metro station, unfortunately for me the one that figures prominently in my daily commute.

I am not going to waste many words describing the situation, just a few photographs bring out vividly what commuters experience, the opposite of what Abhimanyu faced – call this .NOT.Abhimanyuesque.

Now that you have taken in the full scene, a few words of explanation. The set of photographs above does not show that there is an authorized parking lot on the other side of the road. My bad. Most of the vehicles you see parked at the entrance and along the service road must be belonging to BVIMR’s faculty, staff and students. The vehicles block even the bus stop - would DTC be interested? No, I do not think so. They must be happy that the bus stop concessionaire (Jindal Stainless Steel?) has put up a shelter , no matter its functional sterility.  These get filled up around 8:00 AM onward. And, they disappear late afternoon. The appearing-disappearing acts of vehicles in this area define synchronization, between the classes in the institution and the vehicles of its population, I surmise.

Perhaps I am being too hard on BVIMR; there must be another culprit. Yes, there is! Another educational institution is situated just behind (looking from the station) – the Bharati Vidyapeeth’s College of Engineering (BVCOE). Thankfully, it does not claim that it also has an attached metro station. Yet, I would suspect that at least some of the vehicles in front and around the metro station belong to its population. The two sister institutions, then, have literally hijacked the public space (some neighborhood streets also resemble parking lots during the day on account of these institutions). Blame can be spread around.

But, no one questioned.

Till about ten days ago.

I went to DMRC’s website, located the feedback space and registered a complaint. Surprisingly, I was called by someone from the organization within the hour to check my credentials and then a few hours later, to give me a sort of progress report – action taken report, if you please. First point, the service road and other hijacked areas do not belong to DMRC. I said I knew that and asked whether DMRC would not care that its customers are put to .NOT.Abhimanyuesque difficulties. He said sure DMRC cares and that is why they contacted the police who said that the land belongs to MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and it should be contacted in this matter. The caller told me that DMRC indeed will be contacting MCD. But he also requested that perhaps I could also contact MCD.

If DMRC thinks that I, an insignificant individual can help or support it on a matter that falls squarely within the concerns of the organization as regards provision of commuter services, the situation must be worse than I could imagine, it dawned on me. That is when my do-goodership came to an abrupt end, leaving Delhi Metro helpless.

The situation continues and will continue forever. I will not complain anymore. I will swallow the bitter pills nary a troubled sound. This is the cost of living in a society that would not recognize civic sense, no matter the provocation to do so.

The simple fact is I enjoy the comfortable commute afforded by DMRC and I am willing to overlook the entry/exit problems. This is a trade-off I am comfortable with (rather, I am forced to be comfortable with).

Raghuram Ekambaram

References

1.    http://www.bvimr.com/BVIMR_Campus.asp