Twenty lifts in Bengaluru Metro stations are under maintenance for several days.
Lifts in metro stations like Baiyappanahalli and Jayanagar, as well as 18 others have been under maintenance for a while now and require administrative attention. Officials say people have to wait longer for the lifts to be fixed.
The lift near the Old Madras Road entrance for physically challenged and senior citizens has not been working in Baiyappanahalli metro station since one month, said two people working in the metro station including a home guard on duty.”People who are in need of lifts go to the control room and ask for help and from there wheelchairs or stretchers are arranged for them,” said the guard.
Sangwesh, Station Controller at Baiyappanahalli Metro station said, “This actually comes under the maintenance department, however, we just monitor and update the issues to the department concerned and they take the complaint further to the company who are accountable for the maintenance.” He explained that the lift was put under maintenance after a lady with her disabled grandfather was found stuck inside it.
People overcrowded in Metro station lifts.
A staff member at the Jayanagar Metro station, who did not want her identity to be disclosed said, “It has been two days since work on the lift is under way and we are informed that it will take another three to four days for completion.
Deepak Shetty, a 50-year-old resident of Vijayanagar, who uses the metro twice or thrice a week to travel mainly for business purposes, said, “I have observed such issues frequently happening in Cubbon Park metro station.”
T.L Ravi Prakash, senior manager at Public Relations, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) said that they have taken steps to repair all the lifts which are in need of attention. “A total of 118 lifts are there, out of which 39 are already repaired. However, 20 lifts that include some major metro stations are under repair,” he said.
A police constable at Sir M. Vishvesharaiyya Metro station, Jagdish Y.C, said that the escalators stop functioning three to four times a day and it mainly occurs during peak hours.
“It mainly takes four to five days when the issues with lifts are small, but the major issues take nine to ten days. Also, we provide wheelchairs to the people having trouble climbing stairs, mainly to old or physically challenged ones. But we generally request handicapped and senior citizens to try managing with escalators,” said Ravi Prakash. For the maintenance of all the metro stations of Bengaluru, BMRCL has given contract to a private company named Tindler.
He added that people are not cooperative at all as many times lifts get stuck when they are overloaded beyond capacity.
N V Ranganatha, a Training Coordinator at Action on Disability and Development (ADD India) India said, “People need to cooperate with the government as it is not only the government’s responsibility to improve infrastructure.” He further said that mutual understanding, cooperation and respect should be there.
