Delhi: Metro services were not allowed in the country due to lockdown imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. However, as per information, Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) which has not been operating for more than two months now, seems to be gearing up and waiting for the centre's order for resumption of services soon.
A nodal officer of DMRC who wished to remain anonymous told ETV Bharat, "Till now the reopening date is not decided, hence, we are waiting for the centre's nod and accordingly, we will resume the metro services. We are fully prepared from the operational point of view, if the government instruct us to start metro, we are all geared up and waiting for the date. Looking forward to the travel protocols by the government to be implemented soon after the metro services resume".
"All metros are functional, components and systems are functional and in good health because we have been conducting regular maintenance during the lockdown period. Operational staff in limited numbers are still coming to stations, they are attending work in depots, so we ensure that the system is in good condition. Once the centre decides to resume services on a particular day, we are all prepared to do that", the official adds.
He says, "The trains are regularly sanitized and we run two trains on each line every day-morning and evening to check whether the system is in the proper condition or if there is any defect in the tracks, signalling, electrical system. We have been doing these throughout the lockdown period. That way, everything is tested. There are construction sites where work just began before the lockdown which was on halt due to the lockdown, but now we have resumed the construction work. There are labourers available in some sites and work is in progress".
It is worth noting that, presently, DMRC is carrying out construction at about five to six different sites in the city including worksites of Dhansa, Airport Express Line expansion work in Dwarka as well as sites/casting yards for Phase 4 projects.
"Once the operation resumes for crowd management, and after the government issues specific guidelines for passengers, adhering to it, the DMRC has planned to ensure strict social distancing measures and will monitor the passengers through the CCTV installed in the trains", the official adds.
"More than 14,000 strong workforces of DMRC have already resumed duty in different departments. Besides, measures have been undertaken by the DMRC on a trail basis such as putting up social distancing stickers at the queue to ensure the distance between two passengers and also alternate seats will have to be left vacant by the travellers", the official informed.
Moreover, as a part of its precautionary measures at the construction sites, several pictorial awareness messages have been painted at DMRC's sites so that the workers keep getting reminded about the precautions while at work.
"At almost every corner of the construction sites, there is a pictorial message, with relevant information which alert workers about the various precautions they are supposed to take. While the messages are largely bilingual, a lot of focus has been laid on the use of Hindi as a lot of workers are more proficient in reading Hindi", DMRC's executive director, Anuj Dayal informed in a statement.
The statement says, "The campaign has been planned meticulously under the supervision of DMRC's Safety department. All relevant government guidelines and advisories have been taken into consideration while planning the content. Easy language and pictorials have been used so that the messages are satisfactorily conveyed".
"However, getting the messages painted was a major challenge for DMRC and its contractors as most of the painters, who are generally engaged for such assignments, were unavailable during the ongoing lockdown. As an alternative mechanism, printed banners in flex were installed at several locations", it added.
"Pictorial messages have been an integral part of the safety strategy at DMRC's construction sites ever since Phase 1. Attractive messages, rhymed couplets filled with humour are often painted on the walls to convey important messages regarding construction site safety and site hygiene. This is for the first time that such messaging is being used to spread awareness about a disease", Dayal further stated.
All guidelines set by the government agencies are being implemented while resuming works and contractors/workers are being sensitised about the precautionary guidelines at the beginning of work during the tool workshops. Displays with the necessary information regarding social distancing have been installed at the sites.
Masks, sanitizers and thermal scanners have been made available at the sites as well. DMRC's engineers are keeping a very close eye at the sites to ensure all norms are followed.
The metro services have been closed for over two months since March 25 when the very first phase of the lockdown was imposed. During lockdown 4.0 which started from May 18, DMRC and the Delhi government were in favour of partially resuming the services. But, the centre did not give its nod due to safety concern. Meanwhile, trains, domestic flights, buses started operations during 4.0 lockdown.
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