The Delhi Metro collected ₹38 lakh in fines over 11 months from those caught sitting on the floor of the train, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed.
The total amount collected from 51,000 people in fines for offences such as littering, creating a nuisance, travelling with undervalued tokens and obstructing officials on duty — from June 2017 to May 2018 — is ₹90 lakh.
Of this, the highest amount, ₹38 lakh, was collected for squatting on the floor, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said in response to an RTI query.
An estimated 19,026 people were fined for sitting on floor of the train, which according to Metro rules is not in line with public etiquette and attracts a penalty of ₹200.
The DMRC said that a total of 51,441 people were fined from June last year till May this year and a total of ₹89,94,380 was collected.
1 caught on roof of train
One case of travelling on the roof of a train was also recorded on the Metro’s Blue Line for which the offender was charged ₹50.
The Yellow Line saw the maximum fine being collected at ₹39,20,220.
Other offences which garnered fines included carrying away tokens, carrying offensive material, unlawful entry and walking on metro tracks.
Some passengers say they do not understand why they should be fined for sitting on the floor. Dipika Bhatia, a daily commuter from Dwarka to Noida, who takes around 1.5 hours to reach home by Metro, said: “I just do not have the strength to stand after a long day at work.”
She admitted that she knows it is an offence but does not understand the reason behind it.
Saranya Kumar, a frequent commuter on the Yellow Line to Gurugram, however, tends to side with the DMRC. “There are seats. If people are feeling unwell, they can ask people to get up. I have seen that most people vacate seats if you have a genuine reason,” she said, noting that it gets very difficult to accommodate people during rush hours when people are sitting on the floor of the train.
People sitting on the floor also affect boarding and deboarding and causes delays, said a DMRC driver.
The DMRC’s operations are governed by rules and regulations based on the Metro Railway (Operations and Maintenance) Act.
