Six months on, still no takers for Ggn’s 2nd phase Rapid Metro
GURUGRAM: It has been over six months when the second phase of Rapid Metro was launched that finally led to the completion of over 11 kilometres covering busy areas of Golf Course road and Cyber City. Yet, after years of setting up the infrastructure and thousands of crores of investment, many residents still prefer to give local Metro service a miss due to various challenges that surrounds it.
Higher costs for travelling, less focus on last mile connectivity and lesser frequency of the movement of trains are resulting in many residents still relying on other modes of transportation.
Considered to be a bane for many residents who drive on routes of Golf Course, Sikanderpur, MG road and Cyber city, the diesel run autos and private city buses continue to retain its popularity.
While these transportation mediums still charge a reasonable sum from their customers, the ticket prices in rapid metro ranges from minimum sum of Rs 20 to maximum of Rs 35. Not only are the com- mon citizens but even the office goers have lessened their daily travels.
“Being a private enterprise, there is focus in recovering the costs to reach the breakeven levels soon. As it is covering just 11 kilometres, it cannot be profitable by being a mass product and has therefore focussed on being a niche product by focussing more on office goers. However, even in this strategy they need to work on their business model,” said Amandeep Singh, a resident.
Besides providing services for commuting, the other forms of revenue for rapid metro is through advertising on its trains and on certain occasions providing space for hosting functions in its coaches.
“The development of Rapid Metro is crucial in the public transportation scenario of Gurugram. At a time when the city is the leader in air pollution, we cannot allow this experiment to go bust. If required, the state government must also step in and ensure that prices can be reworked so that more can use the services,” said Ankita Jain, one of the city residents.
Seeking closure of brothels on GB Road, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday issued summons to 125 owners asking them to appear before it.
The rights body received the details of the owners from various agencies but was provided different names for the same brothels which made it difficult to identify the real owners.
Therefore, brothel owners have been asked to appear before the Commission from September 21 to 24 along with their original identity and address proofs, said a senior DCW official.
Summons to those owners, who refused to receive them, were pasted on the walls of the brothels, the official said.
Earlier, the commission had constituted a committee under the chairpersonship of DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal and comprising senior officials of Delhi Police, North MCD, District Magistrate, Delhi Jal Board, Fire Department and representatives of prominent NGOS.
“The GB Road has become a hub for human trafficking, especially of minors who are brought here from different parts of the country and are subjected to rapes, kept in extremely inhuman conditions and are exploited to the extreme,” Maliwal said.
“This gory business has been ongoing merely three kilometres away from the Parliament and there is no doubt that there is active connivance of system. These are the initial steps of the Commission in its pursuit to ensure their closure,” Maliwal added.