Metro in East Delhi: A boon for commuters

Summer has been pretty hard for the people in North India, especially Delhi. Temperatures have been touching new highs almost every day. And to further aggravate the problems, there are power cuts and water shortage. The people of Delhi are really facing tough time and everyone prefers to stay at home to avoid the scorching heat.

But call it my youthful bravado or a penchant to check out the latest development in the city, I decided to take a ride on the Metro, boarding it from the newly-opened Metro station at Yamuna Bank in East Delhi. Metro coming the East Delhi was be a boon for its residents who have to fight a war daily just to make it in time at their respective destinations. Commuting has been a huge problem here with almost every mode of transport running packed and traffic moving at a snail’s pace during peak hours.

So I was pretty happy that finally, Metro has made its way to the eastern part of the capital. And reading about the station and the infrastructure the DMRC has put in here, the journalist inside pushed me to take a ride.

The brand new Yamuna Bank Metro station that has come up across the grand old river has been positioned strategically, no doubt. Away from the main road the entry to the station makes a person feel at ease. Though somewhat long, the road is well maintained with auto rickshaws ready to serve you so that you don’t have to face the heat.

But as soon as you enter the station a wall of chaos hits you. Despite the tall promises by the government that the premises has a very large parking area and can accommodate up to 400 cars, there is virtually no space. Plus the staff present there is not ready to co-operate. All they have to say is the place gets occupied very fast, especially by the office-goers who park their vehicles for the whole day. Agreed that the Metro was a much-needed transport mode for East Delhi, the crowd has clearly surpassed the expectations of the planners.

Talking about the station, the construction is up to the mark. And going by the speed with which the DMRC is completing its projects – this station has been made operational five months before the scheduled time -- it needs to be appreciated.

With the opening of the Yamuna Bank station will ease the pressure on the existing lines of the Metro as commuters from East Delhi can come directly to the Yamuna Bank rather than interchange at Kashmere Gate and Rajiv Chowk.

The new stretch is likely to reduce the load off roads at the Nizamuddin and ITO bridges, which are major bottleneck points in terms of traffic, especially during the peak hours.