New Delhi:
The Delhi Metro’s Magenta and Grey lines resumed operations on Friday after remaining closed for 173 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. Services started at 7 AM as part of the second stage of the graded reopening of the Delhi Metro, which was closed on March 22 to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Ninety-two commuters were fined Rs 200 each, while 150 were counselled for violation of norms, the officials said. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has deployed flying squad teams across all lines to conduct random checks inside trains for any kind of violations.
“DMRC today counselled over 150 passengers and penalised 92 passengers for Rs 200 each under Section 59 of Delhi Metro O&M Act for creating nuisance when our teams tried to counsel them for not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing during their travel inside trains,” it said in a statement. In the second stage, trains operated in two batches of six hours each from 7 AM to 1 PM and 4-10 PM.
Services on other lines, which had opened under the first stage from Monday to Thursday, also followed the same schedule. Yellow Line and Rapid Metro were the first ones to reopen on Monday, followed by Blue and Pink lines on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Red, Violet and Green lines were made operational. The DMRC has appealed to people to use rapid transport only if urgently needed.
With services available on most metro lines now, the total ridership recorded till 7:30 PM on Thursday was 1,28,886, according to the DMRC.
