Revenue settlement documents, “tourist maps” of early 1900s, materials sourced from the National Archives and the wealth of information with the city’s historians will all contribute towards showcasing the local history of areas to be connected by the Delhi Metro’s Heritage Line.
The Indian Council of Historical Research, which is helping the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation source the information on panels, is also considering putting together a booklet at the end of the project which can be sold at metro stations or be made available online for commuters to download, said ICHR member-secretary Gopinath Ravindran.
For now, at the upcoming ITO station, plans are afoot to put up the URLs alongside snippets of information in the panels. “The Delhi Metro has been very generous with space but we realise that long sentences may not hold the viewer’s attention so we have had to condense the information. Now, we are thinking of mentioning web links as well so they can read more about the area in their own time,” said Mr. Ravindran.
The successful pilot project at the Mandi House metro station also displays QR Codes for commuters with smart phones to easily scan the code and learn more about the area. “We are mandated to popularise history and metro stations are a great way to do so. Stations that seem history-less will now be able to showcase what kind of people lived there over time and how the area evolved,” said Mr. Ravindran.
He hopes the ‘local history project’ will also spread to other stations apart from the Heritage Line. “For instance, very few people know about the Raja of Patparganj and the Battle of Patparganj,” he said. Patparganj is an East Delhi locality that can be accessed on the Delhi Metro’s Blue Line.
The panels planned for the upcoming ITO station, for which the ICHR will hire a couple of interns to source the information, will throw more light on this “buffer zone” created between Lutyens’ Delhi and the Old Quarters of the city.
“We will approach all institutions in the area, government agencies and the newspaper offices to get involved in this project,” he said. “I remember seeing a picture of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru reading the first issue of The Patriot newspaper so we will make efforts to source that photograph. The attempt is to tell the story of the buildings, institutions and the landmarks in this zone,” he added.
Now tokens for onward journey available at Airport metro station
Now passengers on the Airport Express Line can purchase tokens and smart cards for their onward journey on the metro network. An exclusive token counter has been set up at the Airport metro station for commuters who want to travel ahead of the the New Delhi station on the Yellow Line.
“This will help in saving time and smoothen travel experience for such passengers. Earlier, they had to queue up twice for purchasing tokens/cards: first at the Airport station and then again at the New Delhi station of the Yellow Line,” said a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson.
