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Journalism of Courage
Written by TANAYA NEVE and ALISTER AUGUSTINE
The heavy rains that hit the city this monsoon have the Pune Metro authority rushing to fix the plugs as several stations have been found to be leaking, with water on the floor, rendering the stations dangerous. Almost all stations including Deccan Gymkhana, Garware College, Sambhaji Garden, Vanaz metro stations have reported multiple leaks including near the ticket counters, entry and exit points, and platforms.
The passengers are struggling to walk on wet floors while the station staff have to scramble to contain the leaked water by placing buckets and garbage beans. The Indian Express saw that among the worst affected are senior citizens who were struggling to walk on wet and slippery floors.
“The floor is constantly wet and it’s dangerous for senior citizens,” said an 82-year-old senior citizen. “Also since one has to walk a long distance to reach the platform, the slippery floors are a real hazard. They should cover it properly and maintain the metro stations, especially during the rainy season. The leakages near the ticket counters are equally risky,” he said.
Another senior citizen who got down at Garware Station said, “I started travelling by metro because of the ease I felt in the beginning. But now at metro stations I see a lot of negligence. There’s no staff to be seen and because of this the situation has become worse.”
Devashree Hamdapurkar, a student who travels from Vanaz to Garware College almost every day, said, “It’s disappointing to see such problems in a new facility. What am I paying them for if they can’t even maintain it properly? Leakages in the station are a major safety issue!” she said.
Mitra, a class X student who travels to school using the Metro expressed surprise at the situation. “I like to travel by Metro but the leakages must be addressed. The current method of just placing buckets isn’t effective, as water still spills out, creating hazards near ticket counters and exits. Authorities need to wake up and fix these issues.”
When contacted, Hemant Sonawane, public relations officer, Pune Metro, conceded that leaks have been reported from several stations and said that a ‘dedicated team’ is working to plug the leaks. “Many factors could have resulted in the leaks. The metal sheet roofs are holed to withstand wind. At some places water could be making its way in through overlapped sheets or through the drilling made for fastening of sheets,” said Sonawane.
“We are attending to the issue and a dedicated team is working on it. It is taking time as the work has to be done during the day time and when it’s not raining. As lately it’s been raining incessantly, finding that window is difficult. It’s important to take this precaution as workers have to climb up on the roof which is at a height of 70-80 feet and there’s risk involved. But we are on the job,” said Sonawane.
