Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) It was double trouble for hundreds of commuters in Delhi Friday. Anguished by the auto-rickshaw strike on a hot day, they also had a harrowing time at a Metro station following peak hour delay caused by “a technical snag”.

A large number of people took the Metro because of the auto strike, called by some unions to protest order to install Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on their vehicles. According to some, the Metro was snagged at the Kashmiri Gate station around 6 p.m. Friday.

A “technical snag” forced the commuters to wait for more than half an hour, which saw tempers flaring on the platform leading to chaos.

“There were more than 200 passengers on the platform. The weather was very hot and humid. People had no clue about the cause of the delay and Metro officials were of no help,” Ankit Sharma, a management student, told IANS.

According to him, things went out of hand when some of the guards allegedly pushed passengers back, leading to heated arguments.

Another passenger, Sunanda Bhasin said: “I knew there would be a huge crowd on the platform. It was a stunning scene there. There was not even an inch left on the platform and people were shoving and pushing from everywhere.”

“To make things worse, a number of men forcefully entered the women’s coach,” she added.

The Metro staff constantly made announcements asking people to behave and calm down while apologising for the delay due to a technical snag.

However, when contacted, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) denied any knowledge of the incident.

“It was not reported to us. Maybe due to the peak hour rush there may have been some problem,” DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told IANS.

Thousands of auto-rickshaws in the city went off the roads with the auto unions demanding that the Delhi government pay for the installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in their vehicles.