BENGALURU: A commuter who frequently transported a carton containing Red Bull energy drink cans on Metro trains, to be sold at his brother’s shop, was abruptly denied permission to take it along at Chickpet station on Wednesday evening. A security staffer assumed it was alcohol and refused to allow him to take it inside the station.
Prasanna Kumar, a public sector employee, had brought a carton with 24 Red Bull cans to board the Metro from Chickpet Metro station to Kempegowda Interchange station, then change over to KSR station and board a train to Malur in Kolar district at 6.10 pm. The fracas between a cop from the Karnataka State Industrial Security Police Force (KSISF) and Kumar took place at 5.45 pm after he passed his luggage through the scanner.
Kumar told TNIE, “If I had been permitted on the Metro train, I would have boarded the 6.10 train to Malur but I couldn’t. I am heading to KR Market to take a bus to KR Puram railway station and take a train from there. I am really upset.”He explained that he had never been forbidden to carry the item earlier.
“I have carried similar cartons twice or thrice a month after Metro resumed operations (June 21, 2021) post Covid-19. This is only an energy drink and I repeatedly explained it to the police. He said he knew all about it and it contained at least 25 per cent alcohol. The police was also very disrespectful towards me.”
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited Managing Director Anjum Parvez, said that alcohol figures in the list of prohibited items on Metro trains. “In this specific case, there must have been some confusion about the contents on the part of the security staffer which made him respond like this,” he said.
TBM Vindhya breaks through after 855m of tunnelling
Bengaluru: After drilling for 855 metres below the ground, Tunnel Boring Machine ‘Vindhya’ on Wednesday achieved breakthrough at the upcoming Shivajinagar Metro Station. It began its journey on October 3, 2020, from Cantonment Metro station. A senior official told TNIE, “The final breakthrough was reached at 10.30am.” Like every TBM, it had its share of tunnelling problems before completing its task, he added. The process of dismantling ‘Vindhya’ will follow, the official added. In all, nine TBMs have been deployed to create an underground corridor for the Nagawara-Kalena Agrahara line. TBM ‘Urja’ was the first to complete its task on September 22 this year. According to an official release, the TBM will be lifted to ground level at Shivajinagar Metro Station.
“It will then be transported to the launching shaft at Cantonment Station, from where it will be lowered and then reassembled to start tunnelling work between Cantonment and Pottery Town stations,” it said. It would take up to December this year to start tunnelling along the new stretch. TBM ‘Urja’ would restart tunnelling before that, he said.