Residents along the Mumbai Metro rail corridor are a troubled lot. Ever since the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route been commissioned, families residing adjacent to metro stations endure station announcements which begin very early in the morning and go on till midnight.
One such suffering family is of Jyoti Prakash Rangwala's at Ghatkopar. Said Rangwala, "There aren't any view cutters put up and peeping toms stare inside our homes. As a result, we have been forced to keep our windows shut."
"We provided water from our well to help them in constructing metro rail and the authorities even demolished our compound wall, but till date, they haven't rebuilt the wall," added Rangwala.
Another affected resident is Uttam Kolekar, whose grievance is against loud public address systems in the metro stations. "The announcements are so loud that we do not get sleep despite shutting all our windows and doors. My children cannot study because of the high decibel levels," complained Kolekar.
These announcements begin at around 5.15 am and goes on till 11.45pm and Kolekar's job entails many night shifts. This means sleeping during the day, "I haven't slept in peace and sleep has been erratic due to disturbance from the station announcements," explained Kolekar.
Biju N, a resident close to Western Express Highway Metro Station, grumbled about the high decibel levels of station announcements.
Dr Monica Matani, a resident of Seven Bungalows said, "The braking or screeching sound of metro rail on the extended portion beyond Versova metro station is troubling us. But the residents of Ever Sweet Society next to Versova station have informed me that they are facing problem due to loud station announcements.
Rangwala complained that the cleaners at the metro station continue their work post-midnight. As a shortcut, they throw dirty water outside the station into the compounds of nearby buildings or on the road.
Additionally, passengers, in order to avoid getting penalised for littering or spitting within the metro station premises, prefer to throw the garbage or spit outside the station compound into housing societies.
Rajesh Lakhanpal, a resident of Andheri-Kurla Road, added that the noise levels of metro rail wakes them early in the morning.
A Mumbai Metro spokesperson clarified, "The announcements are within the limits of prescribed guidelines. We have not received any complaints officially on any littering issue. However, we are educating commuters on various behavioral aspects. MMOPL has constructed all the demolished structures while construction phase along the corridor."
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