Delhi Metro holds street plays aimed at workers' safety

Delhi Metro is conducting a series of street plays at its construction sites as part of a large-scale safety awareness drive, primarily aimed at sensitising the migrant labourers engaged in Phase-III construction.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has lined up a total of 300 such 'nukkad nataks' (street plays), of which more than 90 have already been held in various construction sites across the National Capital Region.

"We are trying to drive home the message of safety etiquettes by covering a host of seemingly simple but overlooked aspects such as wearing helmets, desisting from consuming alcohol, wearing boots, etc.," an official said.
Although it is mandatory for workers to undergo a training course, officials say this initiative was necessary considering "at times formal training doesn't help".

"Such methods are always more successful in conveying the actual message to workers. This is but a fact that any number of training manuals or related methods are far less effective," the official said, adding that the workers are also being given safety handbooks with animations.

The first leg of the drive was from February 16 to 25 and the second leg was held recently from March 5-7 as part of the Safety Awareness Week.

Officials say they have already covered almost all the sites and around 10,000 workers but will hold another round as the working force is largely migrant in nature which keeps shifting from one site to another. "At times they shift to a different project altogether resulting in the induction of new faces who may have missed out in the earlier rounds," a spokesperson said.

As per official estimates, around 20,000 workers are currently engaged in Metro construction work, which at its peak stood at around 30,000.