Blue Line, Pink Line of Delhi Metro resume after 171-day Covid-19 hiatus

Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Pink Line resumed services with curtailed operation timings on Wednesday after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Delhi Metro’s Blue Line and Pink Line resumed services with curtailed operation timings on Wednesday after being closed for 171 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. Trains are to operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 AM in the morning and 4-8 PM in the evening in the first stage. “The Blue and Pink lines resumed services today. Slowly and steadily, Delhi Metro will be back to take you places! #MetroBackOnTrack,” the DMRC tweeted.

On Monday, the Delhi Metro had resumed services with curtailed operation of the Yellow Line, since the closure of the urban transporter on March 22. The Ministry of Home Affairs had recently issued guidelines allowing the Delhi Metro to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the DMRC had said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12. Under stage one, Yellow Line or Line 2 and Rapid Metro were made operational with restricted service hours — 7-11 AM and 4-8 PM.

While nearly 15,500 passengers availed the Yellow Line and Rapid Metro combined on Monday, the figures stood at nearly 17,600 on Tuesday. Metro services in Delhi-NCR was closed since March 22 due to the pandemic. The DMRC has appealed to people to use the rapid transport only if urgently needed.

Delhi Metro resumes after 169-day Covid-19 hiatus; DMRC urges for prudence

The Delhi Metro resumed services with curtailed operation of the Yellow Line on Monday after being closed for over five months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic

The Delhi Metro resumed services with curtailed operation of the Yellow Line on Monday after being closed for over five months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Yellow Line connects Samaypur Badli in Delhi to the HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon. The Home Ministry had recently issued guidelines allowing metro services in the country to resume operations in a graded manner, following which the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said it would be done in three stages from September 7-12. Under stage one, Yellow Line or Line 2 and Rapid Metro were made operational with restricted service hours, a DMRC official said.

ALSO READ: As metro is set to restart from Sept 7, here’s what travelling will be like

Trains will operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 pm in the evening in the first stage, officials said. Delhi Metro services in the National Capital Region was closed since March 22 due to the pandemic. The DMRC has appealed to people to use the rapid transport only if urgently needed.

The DMRC had said that the carrying of Smart Card (with online recharge) was a must as tokens would not be available and all cash transactions would not be permitted, adding that it will not be providing services to stations that in containment zones for any given day in any of the states….

Free bus, Metro rides scheme: What Delhi govt’s proposal means to women

Contrary to the expectation that women in urban areas get more employment opportunities, the data show that India’s female labour force participation rate in cities is lower than in rural areas

On a winter’s day in early 2018, 23-year-old data entry executive Sheela* had to make a split-second decision when the driver of her shared mini-van ignored her requests to slow down and drop her off: she could either stay on the vehicle–the lone passenger–and risk possible assault, or jump off the moving vehicle and risk injury.

She chose to leap off, injuring her right arm and ankle to ensure her safety from the driver of the gramin seva (rural service) van, a preferred mode of transport in the low-income suburbs of India’s capital. Travelling more than 7 km from an office in Okhla Phase I in southern Delhi to her home in Dakshinpuri, the shared van–Rs 5 per ride versus a minimum of Rs 10 per km for an auto–was the only reliable and affordable transport option for Sheela, in a city with 3,900 buses and an 8-line, 373-km metro-rail network.

Sheela is one of many women who navigate risks on the streets of Delhi while going about their daily activities. The recent announcement by the Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, to make metro and bus rides free for women in the city, has key implications for women’s mobility, which, in turn, is linked to decisions about education, employment and access to public spaces.

Wife with toddler walks, husband takes motorcycle

In my research on women and service work in Delhi, young women seeking work raised concerns over safety, accessibility and affordability of public transport. Take the case of 29-year-old Sushma*, a car driver. After she got married and moved to Delhi from a village in Rajasthan, Sushma was keen to study further and find employment. She had heard about driver-training classes for women and told her husband that she wanted to sign up. However, her in-laws discouraged her, telling Sushma that her place was at home.

Delhi Odd-Even Round-3: 1.3 mn cars to go off roads, & top 10 developments

The road-space rationing scheme will be in place between November 13 and 17 from 8 am to 8 pm in the national capital

 

It's time for round three of the Odd-Even road-space rationing scheme first brought in last year by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -led Delhi government, as Delhiites choke on toxic air. The Odd-Even plan will be in place for five days starting Monday, November 13. 

According to Safar (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research), Delhi's air quality is forecast to be "severe" today, with PM10 at 895 microgrammes per cubic metre and PM2.5 at 546 microgrammes per cubic metre -- these are ultrafine particulates that have the ability to enter the respiratory system and subsequently the bloodstream of humans and animals, causing harm. Tomorrow's air quality forecast is also "severe", as is the forecast after three days from now.

The announcement of the third phase of the Odd-Even plan from November 13 to 17 was made by Delhi's Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot at a press conference on Thursday. He said the modalities of the scheme, under which private four-wheeled vehicles with odd and even registration numbers were allowed to run on alternate days from 8 am to 8 pm, would be the same as the previous phases. (economy news)

The first phase of the Odd-Even rule was implemented by the Delhi government from January 1 to 15 and the second phase from April 15 to 30 last year...

Delhi Metro ride to pinch your pocket; fares rise by up to Rs 10 from today

Commuters will have to pay Rs 5-10 extra, no change in the fares of Airport Express Line

The increased metro fares will be applicable from Tuesday as scheduled, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced on Monday.

The Delhi metro fare hike, which comes barely five months within the last one, will affect every commuter who travels beyond 5 km. The maximum fare, for journeys beyond 32 km, will now be Rs 60.

This is the second fare hike this year as proposed by the Fare Fixation Committee which was formed last year. The increased charges were to be applied in two phases - the first hike was already done in May this year.

The revised fare structure will be: up to 2 km — Rs 10, 2 to 5 km — Rs 20, 5 to 12 km — Rs 30, 12 to 21 km — Rs 40, 21 to 32 km — Rs 50 and for journeys beyond 32 km — Rs 60.

Barring the minimum fare of Rs 10 for the distance of 0-2 km that will remain the same, (economy today)commuters will have to pay Rs 5-10 extra for distance travelled further as per kilometre scheme set by the transporter.

While commuters pay Rs 15 for the distance traveled between 2-5 km, now they will have to pay Rs 20. The maximum fare has been increased to Rs 60 as compared to current Rs 50.

Smart card users will continue to get 10 per cent discount, so would those who happen to use metro during non-peak hours - between the start of the metro service till 8 am, between 12 pm and 5 pm, and from 9 pm till the close of service.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) made the announcement after its highest decision-making body, the DMRC board, refused to "interfere" in the matter, saying it has no power to change the recommendations of the fare fixation committee (FCC), which had proposed the steep hike.

The board had met around 8 pm following Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's insistence that the decision be withheld.

The DMRC had been batting for a hike citing "losses" in view of loans and rise in input costs such as power tariff among others.

The hike has been vociferously opposed by the Delhi government which accused the transporter of inefficiency and demanded that hike be withheld. The Delhi Assembly also passed a resolution on Monday seeking that the hike in fares be withheld....Read More

Rs 48,000 cr Delhi Budget: AAP focuses on health, education, no new taxes

Kejriwal government abolished the plan and non-plan expenditure heads

#LATEST | A Rs 48,000-crore budget for the national capital was today presented by the AAP government, laying major focus on improving transport, health, water distribution and education infrastructure.

In its third Budget, the Arvind Kejriwal government abolished the plan and non-plan expenditure heads and presented it in terms of revenue and capital classification in line with the Centre's decision.

There was no proposal on levying any new tax.

In a first, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the finance portfolio, also presented an "outcome budget" which he said would act like a "contract" between the government and the people.

Sisodia asserted that the economy of the state will grow "despite demonetisation".

At the same time, he said note ban has led to contraction in the city's estimated GSDP for the ongoing financial year (at constant prices) although it will still be higher than the projected growth at the national level.

At current prices, the national capital's economic growth has been pegged at 12.76 per cent.

"When we allocate money for skywalk, merely constructing it would not be counted as success. Its success would depend on how many people actually use it. That in a nutshell explains the objective of the outcome component," he said.

Eyeing the municipal polls, the government has earmarked a record Rs 7,571 crore for the civic bodies, which comes to about 15 per cent of the total allocation.

The government alloted Rs 11,300 crore for education, about 24 per cent of the total Budget, to the education sector. Last year's allocation was Rs 10,690 crore.

An outlay of Rs 5,736 crore has been made for the health sector, a priority area for AAP government.

Rs 1,156 crore has been set aside for the phase four of the Delhi Metro while Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for developing bus terminals and depots.

(READ MORE)