Commuters want ‘fast train’ at Sec 101
Head to Ebony café to enjoy a cappuccino with a view of the Jama Masjid
Days after the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) started the ‘fast train’ service on its Aqua Line by skipping a few metro stations, a group of residents from sectors 78 and 79 on Thursday asked the corporation to open Sector 101 station during peak hours.
The residents said that this is the nearest metro station, but now they have to walk more or get an auto to reach another metro station.
Aimed at reducing travel time by nine minutes during peak hours, NMRC on February 8 started the fast train service on a trial basis. The service has been made available from terminal stations -- Sector 51 station in Noida and Depot station in Greater Noida -- from 8am to 11am, and 5pm to 8pm on weekdays. All services during these hours would be ‘fast’.
Out of the 21 stations on the Aqua Line, 10 stations, including Sector 101 station, have been skipped under the new system.
Brajesh Sharma, a member of 7X society welfare team, said that earlier local residents
found it easy to catch a metro train from Sector 101 station. “But NMRC suddenly launched the fast Metro service whereby skipping 10 stations, including Sector 101,” he said.
The residents said that they have written to the NMRC managing director to look into the issue.
Sangeeta Lohani, a resident of Antriksh Golf View 1, a highrise in Sector 78, said that she had shifted to Noida home five years ago. “The Sector 101 metro station is about 200 metres away from my home. There was much fanfare during the development of this housing project that the metro station will be in the neighbourhood. Now, the station is closed. What is the point of the station?” she said.
OP Sagar, another resident of Sector 78, said that he travels to Mandi House in Delhi every day. “Earlier, it was easy to get the metro at Sector 101 station. Now, I face problems in hiring an auto to reach Sector 52 metro station and then go to Delhi,” he said.
Sandhya Sharma, deputy general manager, NMRC, said that the fast train service was launched on a trial basis. “Earlier, NMRC had received feedbacks from people demanding fast metro. We launched this service and are reviewing the feedback. If there is genuine demands from certain sectors, we will review them and make suitable changes to facilitate people’s commuting,” she said.
In Paris, you have your cappuccino in front of Notre-dame. In Delhi, it has recently become possible to enjoy a cappuccino — and not just sweet milky chai — in front of the Jama Masjid.
Actually, it’s a side view of the Jama—which offers a very different perspective of the Walled City’s signature monument than the stereotyped appearances encountered in books and movies.
Ebony café opened some days ago and is Old Delhi’s only bistro-style hang out. It’s in the heart of the historic district, and close to its ethos in many ways, and yet far from it. No pretensions here for the glorification of the area’s heritage, like in other local eateries. No black-and-white photos of vintage Chawri Bazar street scenes (which is just a few steps away). The menu doesn’t have paya or nihari, or kachori or jalebi. Instead, it has varieties of pastas, burgers, pizzas and waffles (and even vegan shake). True, some hyperlocalised forms of burgers and pizzas are available in other parts of the Walled City too (the international chain outlets are on the other side, in Daryaganj) but there is no other place around looking as effortlessly modern as this one.
Inside, the place is as uncomfortably cramped as any market alley, but it is the little terrace-like space outside the door, covered by an elegant awning, that gives the café its distinctiveness. It is the kind of shading one would spot in the sidewalk cafes of European cities. The terrace has two tables, and by sitting here one feels as close to the café world of Vienna or Madrid as is possible. You might wonder about the point of spending time in a place so remote from the area’s character, but this uniqueness is refreshing. This evening the sun has set, the little lamps under the awning are aglow and the pigeons are flying about the Jama Masjid dome. A few steps away a bunch of labourers are gathered about huge parcels, some are sitting atop those packages smoking beedis. The terrace is completely exposed to this street life and yet is sheltered, snuggled within a Lakshman Rekha of potted plants. You feel outside and inside simultaneously.
One may sit with a novel for hours—so assures the owner, Old Delhi dweller Mohammed Saddam Khan, “as long as there aren’t people waiting for seats.”
Soon the great mosque starts streaming out the evening call to the maghrib prayer. Paris merges with Purani Dilli.
Tucked in Pai Walan street, close to Jama Masjid’s gate no. 3, the café opens daily from 3pm to midnight. The cappuccino, at ₹90, is as good as it gets.