BENGALURU: Commuters experienced a horrendous journey on Monday as Metro trains struggled to accommodate the massive crowds returning to the city after the Deepavali break.
From the Metro's opening at 5 am until noon, there were enormous queues extending onto the streets, particularly at stations near railway and inter-city bus terminals, which reported a 30 per cent to 50 per centsurge in ridership.
To facilitate quicker passage for commuters, officials were forced to leave the ticketed gates open at several stations for a few hours.
Stations such as Kempegowda Interchange, Nagasandra, Yeshwanthpur, Bennigannahalli, Dasarahalli, Bangalore City, Krishnarajapura, and Baiyappanahalli were bursting at the seams.
H. Raghavendra, an accountant at a private firm who regularly commutes from Nagasandra, shared his experience: "I regularly park my vehicle at Nagasandra station after leaving from my home in Alur, take the Metro to Goraguntepalya, and then take a bus to my workplace in Hebbal. Around 8.15 am on Monday, when I reached the station, the queue to enter was stretching onto the road. I realised it would take a very long time to enter the station and decided to take a bus from Nagasandra instead. I reached my office at 11 am today, instead of the regular time of 9.45 am by Metro, as even the road was jam-packed."
He lamented the non-opening of the Green Line extension, adding, "If only the stretch between Madavara and Nagasandra had been launched, so many of us would not have suffered today."
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials faced public ire for being unprepared for the overwhelming situation. Despite the huge rush, many stations operated with only one entry open.
Ashwatthama posted a query to BMRCL on X, asking, "Why were all entry gates closed and only one gate open in Majestic? This led to a big queue outside that gate even when I didn't have any luggage. I had to stand in the queue for over 15 minutes." In response, an official stated, "This is a normal practice in the early morning hours."
A Metro source reported, "We posted more security personnel to carry out manual frisking and clear the rush. Additional officials were deployed to manage the situation in the concourse and platform areas of the stations." Another source added, "Since most people were returning with luggage after a four-day break, screening took much longer. Due to the surging crowd, we left the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gate open to facilitate public passage at a few stations. Public had to swipe at the exit points alone."
A senior BMRCL official shared data on the overwhelming patronage up to Monday afternoon (5 am to 1 pm): Kempegowda: 22,852 riders; Nagasandra: 18,824; Yeshwanthpur: 16,226; Benniganahalli: 16,088; Dasarahalli: 12,183; KSR City station: 11,770; Krishnarajapura: 10,487; and Baiyappanahalli: 9,488.