Staff at stations lack checking equipment.
Several people drink and travel on the Metro on a daily basis violation of the rules drafted by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL)
Officials at BMRCL believe drunk people invade other travellers’ privacy and disrupt their peace. “We are against letting drunk people use the Metro. Our rules and policies clearly state we are against entertaining drunk people inside Metro stations,” Raj Gopalan, a BMRCL official, said.
A passenger who travelled on the Metro to Majestic informed The Observer she saw a group of drunk men. The group stayed within their limits, but the smell of alcohol made her uncomfortable. Many of her co-passengers felt stifled until the group left.
On August 15, The Observer found participants in the Congress Freedom March travelling on the Metro drunk. The coaches reeked of liquor. Other commuters felt uncomfortable and threatened by their presence. There was a huge commotion at Majestic when the participants disembarked. They left the station without being questioned by Metro staff.
Satya, a 28-year-old techie who lives in Electronics City, shared “I never had any encounters with drunk people while travelling on the Metro, but I have heard stories about how unsafe it is during weekends at the MG Road and Indira nagar stations because… drunk people board the Metro at night.”
According to a Deccan Herald report, drunken riding by passengers one of the most recorded violations on the Metro.
Though BMRCL has a rule to not allow drunk people inside Metro stations, its staff lack breathalyzers.
“Using alcohol testers will create long waiting lines at baggage check areas. We are trying to come up with a solution to nab drunk people before entering Metro stations,” a BMRCL official
Namma Metro introduced in October 2011, has given lakhs of a break from tortuous traffic jams on roads that have more vehicles than they can accommodate.
