29 June,2014 07:05 AM IST | | A Correspondent
Women commuters, who travel in the Versova Andheri Ghatkopar metro demand a reserved coach, citing safety issues; say it becomes difficult to travel during the morning and evening peak hours
Metro crowd
For women passengers used to travelling in the ladies compartments in trains, the unavailability of a separate coach in the 11.04 km Versova Andheri Ghatkopar (VAG) metro came as a surprise. Women feel that it will be great if a separate coach is reserved for them as it becomes difficult to travel in the crowded metro during the morning and evening peak hours.
Women commuters in the metro prefer to stand in a corner during peak hours. Pic/Kaushik Thanekar
Devshri Bidaye, a resident of Powai who has experienced the Delhi Metro, told sunday mid-day. "The authorities have provided women passengers with a few seats, which do not guarantee our safety. I have travelled in the Delhi Metro which has coaches reserved for women and one feels safe and comfortable in them. I think a similar thing step should be taken for the Mumbai Metro."
A spokesperson from Mumbai Metro One Private Limited says, "We have reserved seats for Women, Senior Citizens and differently-abled commuters. Through real-time CCTV surveillance system, security staff and customer care executives, we have ensured that the commuters including women commute in an absolute safe environment."
In order to ensure a safe journey for commuters, 700 real time CCTV cameras have been installed inside the station to monitor and keep an eye on any suspicious activities. There are also CCTV cameras inside the trains and the monitoring of the same is done through control rooms.
The Metro stations have also been designed in such a manner that in case of emergency, people can exit the station within four minutes, irrespective of commuter location.
