BENGALURU: With the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) announcing at the last minute (on Monday) that Green Line operations would be shut from Peenya Industry station up to Nagasandra on Tuesday to facilitate signalling tests for an upcoming line, it was a sheer nightmare for hundreds of commuters during peak morning and evening hours. With trains originating from Peenya Industry at 5 am, commuters who usually boarded at Nagasandra, Jalahahalli and Dasarahalli landed here to take their train causing the station to burst at its seams. The queue to enter the station was lining up on the Tumakuru Main Road.
The poor preparedness of BMRCL added to the agony. Parking was completely full and commuters who came by vehicles opted to ride till the next station, Peenya. Instead of opening both the entries to manage the crowd, BMRCL continued with its regular single entry only.
Among the sufferers was Rajath, an assistant manager at a private firm. He boards his train daily at Nagasandra station and commutes till Trinity Circle. “The minute I reached Peenya Industry around 8 am, I knew I was in trouble. I found a parking space with much difficulty. While waiting in the queue, I saw one person scanning all baggage and knew it would take very long. I took my vehicle and decided to go to Peenya and board my train from there. I found space there to park,” he told TNIE.
The commuter added that many were not aware of the partial closure of train operations. "BMRCL should have made an announcement on board trains and platforms about it at least yesterday. A notice should have been pasted outside stations too announcing it. This is very poor communication from their part," he said.
Rajath said the nightmare continued in the evening when he returned to take his vehicle. “There was a long queue at the parking and it took me 20 minutes to take it out of the parking lot,” he said.
Madhusudhan, a student who lives in Madanayakanahalli, took a bus to reach Peenya Industry in the morning. “A long queue was present and my baggage scan took ten minutes, the tapping of the card to enter the station also took some minutes. BMRCL should have opened both the entry gates for better crowd management,” he said.
Senior BMRCL officials conceded they were taken aback by the crowds. “Peenya Industry is a small station and is among those with the lowest footfalls. Today, we had ten times the usual crowd which shocked us. We had anticipated some crowd but not this much. We had put in place extra security personnel and ticketing staff today but they proved inadequate. At every point inside the station, it was choked, ” said an official.
Asked why the second entry could not be opened immediately, another official said, “We need to install the baggage scanner first. Public cannot be allowed inside without checks. The next closure day is on August 23. We will keep everything ready by then and open the second entry. We will also open five more Automatic Fare Collection gates by then to facilitate easy passage."
