Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro) on Saturday denied allegations that its services were deliberately disrupted near the venue of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “Chhatron Ki Gunj” programme, calling the claims misleading.
The allegations followed reports of a metro train being stationary near RTO Metro station as many students and Congress supporters headed to the programme. Congress workers accused the BJP-led state government of deliberately stopping the train to discourage people from using the facility to reach the venue.
Congress Pune city president Prashant Jagtap alleged that the train had remained stationary for nearly an hour.
“Pune Metro, which the BJP extensively promotes and for whose every phase of inauguration Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invited, has been kept stationary at the spot directly opposite the venue for the past hour. The move was intended to prevent people from using the metro to attend the ‘Chhatron Ki Gunj’ programme and cause inconvenience to those travelling to the event,” Jagtap said.
Maha-Metro public relations officer Chandrashekhar Tambvekar said the train seen near the RTO area was stationed on a designated stabling line.
{{/usCountry}}Maha-Metro public relations officer Chandrashekhar Tambvekar said the train seen near the RTO area was stationed on a designated stabling line.
{{/usCountry}}“The train was kept on standby on the stabling line so that it could be deployed immediately if there was a sudden increase in passenger numbers. It did not have any passengers and did not affect regular metro services,” he said, adding that positioning additional trains at strategic locations was part of the metro’s standard operating procedure during major events and periods of anticipated surge in passenger traffic.