Metro authorities had announced increased services starting from Mahapanchami. 262 metro trains were scheduled to run on the Blue Line (Dakshineswar-Shahid Khudiram) from September 27. Despite the expanded services, passenger distress did not go down on Saturday. Passengers are still forced not to board trains, back-to-back.
For example, A Shahid Khudiram-bound metro arrived at Dum Dum station at 11:30 AM. However, it was so crowded that half the waiting passengers couldn't board. Although another train arrived at the station within a few minutes, by then the crowd on the platform had swelled even further. While attempting to board, a middle-aged woman fell inside the compartment due to the pushing and shoving. The crowd was so intense that at times, closing the metro doors became problematic.
While there was no sign of metro staff at Dum Dum station but they could be seen assisting passengers at Esplanade station. One employee was controlling passenger boarding and descent, blowing a whistle. However, disregarding the rules, passengers continued to push and shove while trying to board the metro. Usually, there are a few steel seats at the station for passengers to sit on; those seats have been removed.
An employee explained that this was done to prevent any issues due to the crowd. Passengers commented that if this is the situation in the morning, one can only imagine what it will be like in the evening.
Not just Panchami morning, but passengers have faced extreme inconvenience at the Blue Line metro service since Chaturthi evening. As time passed, the crowd of passengers in the metro grew exponentially. After 9:30 PM, the situation became such that authorities repeatedly announced over the microphone, requesting passengers not to overcrowd the trains.
On Friday, after 9 PM, there was not an inch of space on the Dum Dum-bound platform at Esplanade metro station. The same situation was observed on the Kavi Subhash-bound platform. However, after 9:40 PM, two consecutive metros departed towards Shahid Khudiram. The crowd of passengers was so immense that those boarding at Esplanade were drenched in sweat.
There were two more trains behind. Authorities repeatedly announced that there were more trains coming and urged passengers not to overcrowd a single train. But ignoring the authorities' plea, passengers were seen scrambling to board the metro. And due to the doors not closing, the train's departure was delayed.
On Friday at 9:45 PM, a Dum Dum-bound metro arrived at Esplanade. Even then, closing the gates became a significant problem due to the passenger rush. This issue wasn't limited to Esplanade; similar problems arose at Shyambazar, Shobhabazar, and Belgachia stations. However, after reaching Dum Dum station, the crowd considerably thinned out.
