Activists oppose Delhi Metro’s decision allowing travellers to carry liquor bottles
New Delhi, June 30
With the Delhi Metro allowing passengers to carry two sealed bottles of alcohol each, women activists on Friday said the decision would frustrate women safety measures. They demanded its rollback even as the police assured that there would be strick vigil and action against anyone creating “nuisance”.
Punitive action
If people are found drinking at a public place, we can book them under the Excise Act and the Indian Penal Code.
G Ram Gopal Naik, dcp (metro)
A senior officer of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is tasked with metro security, said the decision was taken to bring uniformity in rules across the metro network. He said that having separate rules for the Airport Express Line and other routes “was not desirable”.
Roll it back
It will be difficult to ensure that people do not drink inside the Metro premises. The decision should be rolled back by authorities. Annie Raja, activist
Carrying of alcohol was banned in the Delhi Metro till recently except on the Airport Express Line, said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Though passengers are now allowed to carry two sealed bottles of alcohol each across the network, drinking of alcohol inside metro premises is still strictly prohibited, Delhi Metro officials said.
Perpetrators should face action
One must bear in mind liquor is inflammable. I don’t see a reason or motivation behind allowing passengers to carry it. Srivastava, founder, akancha against harassment initiative
DCP (Metro) G Ram Gopal Naik said, “We have certain provisions in the DMRC Act according to which we can impose a fine of Rs 200 is a passenger creates any nuisance. If a person is found drinking at a public place, we can book him or her under the Excise Act and the Indian Penal Code. We have our legal provisions which can be used to keep a tab in case of any violations.”
Activist Annie Raja, however, said it would be difficult to ensure that people do not drink inside the metro premises and demanded that the decision be rolled back.
Akancha Srivastava, women rights activist and cyber safety expert, called the move “strange” and she was “not in favour” of it. “It’s also inflammable that needs to be kept in mind too. I don’t see a reason or what the motivation was to even allow this. I am not in favour of it at all. And if you ask any woman who travels by public transport in the city of Delhi, I’m 100 per cent sure they will definitely say the same….we don’t want to add to women’s vulnerabilities,” Srivastava, the founder of Akancha Against Harassment initiative, said.
