Gurgaon suicide bid calls for new safety impetus on metro platforms

The figures suggest that the deployment of CISF personnel to monitor the stations may not be enough and a new safety impetus such as Platform Screen Doors is required urgently.

Peronnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) are regularly seen monitoring metro station platforms to check suicide attempts and jaywalking on tracks.However, yet another suicide bid, this time by a 27-year-old doctor at Guru Dronacharya Metro station on Monday morning, points at the urgent need for a new safety impetus.

Platform Screen Doors are currently functional on the Airport Express line of the Delhi Metro. (HT File)

Data procured from the security agency showed that 88 people tried to commit suicide and 350 people were booked for jaywalking the tracks at metro stations across NCR in 2016.

The figures suggest that the deployment of CISF personnel to monitor the stations may not be enough and a new safety impetus is required urgently. The Delhi Metro’s project of installing Platform Screen Doors (PSD) at crowded metro stations might be one of the possible solutions.

PSDs are functional on the Airport Express line and set to be installed at selected metro stations on the Yellow line this year. Although metro stations in Gurgaon are not part of the list, transport experts believe that the increasing suicide bids at the city’s five stations call for their inclusion for installation of PSDs.

“A handful of CISF officials cannot curb suicide bids. The passenger ratio to each CISF personnel is too high for efficient safety control and hence, engineering modulations such as PSDs are required to keep safety measures in check,” Dr Sewa Ram, associate professor in transport planning at School of Planning and Architecture, said.

Ram said LED screens on PSDs can be used to generate revenue by leasing the same for advertisements.

A Delhi Metro official said the DMRC will install PSDs for efficient crowd management and expand the same to other metro stations after assessing the pilot project.

“Installing PSDs are extensive and its efficiency needs to be assessed prior to its expansion. Hence, six metro stations on the Yellow Line in New Delhi are being equipped with this facility. If successful, the same will be adopted at other metro stations too,” a spokesperson of the Delhi Metro said.