BENGALURU: A frequent sight at Metro stations is that of able-bodied commuters dashing and crowding lifts despite the boards outside them specifying they are meant for senior citizens, disabled and pregnant women. With the five underground Metro stations of Phase-I not having baggage or body scanners at the entries leading to the lifts, the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) manning these stations has initiated a system wherein tokens are provided by those who do not fall under these categories.
They are presently operational at Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Sir M Visvesvaraya, KSR railway Metro station and Kempe gowda Metro stations.
A top security source said, "We call these Frisking Tokens. They have been in place for quite some time and not many are aware of it. "
Physically fit commuters who have suffered injuries or those with knee issues say they are unable to walk and they are permitted to use the lifts. "However, to ensure this does not pose a security issue to other people, we ask them to pass their bags through our scanner as well as subject them to physical screening. A token is handed over to them if they clear the screening."
The token needs to be handed over to the private security staffer monitoring the lift for the person to be allowed entry inside the lift. "This does not apply to senior citizens, the disabled or pregnant women but only for those who are fit physically but develop other health issues," he reiterated. The lift staffer had quite a collection of tokens with her.