Amid speculations of the resumption of Delhi metro services, DMRC chief Mangu Singh inspected the Rajiv Chowk Metro station to check the functioning of operational systems and maintenance activities. Notably, the Delhi Metro has been shut since March 22 when the ‘Janta Curfew’ was imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequently the nationwide lockdown. It has reportedly suffered a loss of nearly Rs 1,300 crore since the closure.
Meanwhile, the DMRC officials have described Singh’s visit as a ‘routine inspection’. “MD-DMRC Dr. Mangu Singh inspected the Rajiv Chowk metro station on Thursday. The routine inspection was part of checking the effective functioning of various operating systems and maintenance activities,” the DMRC tweeted.
According to sources, the Delhi Metro has suffered a loss of nearly Rs 1,300 crore since the closure of services late March due to the COVID-19 situation. The Delhi Metro has been closed since March 22 when the ‘Janta Curfew’ was imposed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequently the nationwide lockdown. While the economy has slowly opened up in a phase-wise manner in the unlock period since June, the DMRC has not received a nod from the Centre to resume operations.
Meanwhile, from thermal scanners to test the temperature of commuters to stickers on social distancing norms pasted on seats and platform floors, the Delhi Metro has been preparing to handle commuters as per safety guidelines, whenever the services are ordered to be resumed. On regular days, the average daily ridership of the DMRC is over 26 lakh.
Mean-while, India has recorded 68,898 coronavirus cases, taking its total past the 2.9-million mark to 2,905,823. With 54,975 fatalities reported on Thursday, the country’s death toll has surged to 53,994. The five most affected states by a total tally of cases are Maharashtra (628,642), Tamil Nadu (361,435), Andhra Pradesh (325,396), Karnataka (256,975), and Uttar Pradesh (172,334). Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in India, recorded the highest one-day count of 14,492 coronavirus cases. West Bengal also recorded its worst single-day spike of 3,197 cases to take its total to 129,119. On a positive note, recoveries among Covid-19 patients in India have surged to 2,096,664, pushing the country’s recovery rate to 73.91 percent. Meanwhile, only 0.28 percent of the 6,86,395 active cases are on ventilator support at present.
