Nagpur: Caution the buzzword as Metro starts after 7 months

NAGPUR: Even though Nagpur Metro ran for the first time after seven months, the operations were smooth with no glitches reported on Friday. With schools and colleges closed and many people working from home, not many people used this mode of transport on the first day after the curbs were eased.
Metro staffers followed the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by state urban development department (UDD) rigorously at the stations.
On entering the stations, the staffers asked passengers to download Aarogya Setu mobile app. They helped people who had difficulties in downloading it. Temperature of the passengers was checked and sanitizer was also sprayed on their hands. People were asked to maintain distance at the station steps. Those without mask were asked to put them on.
People who bought tickets with cash were asked to deposit it in a box instead of directly giving it to the ticket counter staff. The cash was later sanitized with ultraviolet rays before being deposited in bank.
There was no frisking of passengers by the security personnel. Passengers were just asked to put their belongings — mobiles, wallets etc — in a tray so that they could be scanned.
Metro staffers asked passengers not to place the ticket on automatic fare collection (AFC) gate sensor but place it at a distance from the sensor.
There were no Metro personnel on the train as announced, apparently because there were very few passengers and there was no need to enforce Covid distancing.
Even though a few passengers used the Metro, those who were using it before the lockdown are happy that the service has resumed.
Ritwik Kale, a resident of Subhash Nagar, said he used to take the Metro for going to do shopping in Sitabuldi. “Parking space is a big problem in Sitabuldi and besides Metro is faster. I learnt about resumption of Metro service through newspapers. Today, I had to buy some things from Sitabuldi so I boarded the Metro. The to and fro fare cost just Rs10. Metro officials should keep the fares at this level. This will encourage people to use Metro,” he told TOI.
Nitin Suryawanshi, who had boarded the Metro from Bansi Nagar station, said the Metro authorities had taken a very good decision by reducing the fares. “If fares remain at this level, I will regularly use the Metro. It is the cheapest mode of transport in the city,” he added.