NGO files petition for basic facilities on metro

A petition seeking a direction to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the government of the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi to provide drinking water and toilet facilities for commuters in trains has been filed in the Delhi High Court.

The petition, filed by an NGO, Voice of India, said that in December 2007 the organisation had sent a representation to the Delhi government and the DMRC seeking basis facilities on the metro trains but got no satisfactory reply.

According to Voice of India president Dhanesh Ieshdhan, there is a lack of drinking water and toilet facilities on the trains, and urged the DMRC to provide these facilities within two months.

The NGO also said the DMRC had failed to make special seating arrangements for elderly people who commute everyday by train.

Besides, the NGO has raised questions about the security at metro stations, saying there is an absence of baggage screening or scanning machines. "The metal-detecting wooden frames through which a traveller passes before reaching a platform are also defective," it claimed.

The petitioner urged the court to set up a nodal agency to look into the facilities that need to be provided to commuters on metro trains.