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Coronavirus fear empties metro, markets in Delhi
With the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) regulating its services from Friday in the wake of the coronavirus spread, and imposing restrictions on passengers, Metro stations, including important interchange stations such as Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Hauz Khas, didn’t see the usual crowd.
Varsha Khanna (34), a consultant with a marketing firm, had a comfortable journey on the Metro train from her home in Dwarka Sector 21 to her workplace in Connaught Place.
“I have been travelling this route for the past six years. I could never manage to get a seat, not even in the women’s compartment. Today was a luxury,” Khanna said, while pointing at the almost empty train on the Blue Line —the DMRC’s busiest corridor carrying over 20 lakh passengers every day.
With the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) regulating its services from Friday in the wake of the coronavirus spread, and imposing restrictions on passengers, Metro stations, including important interchange stations such as Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Hauz Khas, didn’t see the usual crowd.
“This is the Covid-19 effect,” said Karanjyot Singh, a salesman with an automobile company. Singh, a resident of Malviya Nagar, said, “People are scared due to the outbreak. But people like me have no option, as our showroom is open.”
Even during rush hour, there were fewer people. At Rajiv Chowk Metro station, one of the busiest interchange stations, fewer people were moving about on the two platform levels.
While DMRC said standing inside the train while travelling will not be allowed, it couldn’t enforce the rule. Even the rule to leave adjacent seats empty was ignored.
“There are very few seats empty on the train. I prefer to stand rather than to sit next to a person. But as the trains are not crowded, there is no problem of space,” Aruna, an HR professional who works with a firm in Gurugram, said. The Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-Huda City Centre) too had very few passengers. “Even during peak hours, the trains had very few passengers,” she said.
The Metro, which has an average passenger journeys of 60 lakh, registered a drop in ridership by nearly 45-50% Thursday with only 3.7 million passenger journeys. On Friday, a DMRC official said the numbers dropped further.
“Metro services across the world are adopting similar measures to control the spread of Covid-19. While the Seoul Metro in South Korea suspended services partially since February 21, 2020, the Transport For London (TFL), which operates the London Tube, are closing some stations and restricting services. All other Metro systems are issuing guidelines to passengers to encourage social distancing,” Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communication, DMRC, said.
It was not just Metro that saw a drop in footfall, the roads were relatively empty and the Delhi Transport Corporation buses were running almost empty.
The markets, too, looked deserted. In the otherwise crowded Connaught Place, several shops were closed. According to traders, the footfall in markets reduced drastically and business is almost nil. “Only about 20%-30% of business is taking place daily and the situation is changing fast. The losses are increasing by the day. There are only a few people visiting markets as of now,” Atul Bhargava, president, New Delhi Traders Association, said.
It was the same story in other marketplaces. At South Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar market, traders said there were few customers throughout the day. “Sales dropped by 90%. We plan to shut the market for three days. We hope that the situation improves soon,” Ashok Randhawa, president, Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association, said.
