Metro back on track but commuters face problems making cashless payments
New Delhi: A number of people who travelled on the Delhi Metro, which resumed services after more than five months on Monday, faced problems buying new smart cards or getting them recharged through cashless modes due to network issues.
At many stations, including Central Secretariat, Chawri Bazar, and Chandni Chowk, passengers said there were hiccups while making online payments.
Such issues were being reported mostly from underground metro stations.
Mohammad Mohsin, 28, who travelled from Kashmiri Gate to Sikandarpur, said he had trouble recharging his smart card as it took a while to make the payment through e-wallets due to erratic mobile network.
Tokens are not permitted for travelling to prevent transmission of virus through frequent touching. Only smart card holders (including QR code users on Airport Express Line) are allowed to travel.
Recharge of smart cards at the ticket-vending machines or customer care centre is allowed through cashless modes only.
Similarly, new smarts cards can be purchased at customer care centres or ticket counters using cashless modes of payment.
Parvez Ahmed, who travelled from Saket to Azadpur, said he did not have enough balance in his smart card and his debit card also did not work for sometime due to network issues.
"I waited for about 10-15 minutes before I could successfully make the payment," he said.
Ahmed said there were no long queues on the first day, so delay in online payment did not lead to any major issue.
"Had it been a normal day, it would have led to chaos," he said.
Luckshay Gupta, 28, said issues in online payment caused a minor delay during his travel from Chandni Chowk to Race Course.
"Cash is still being used in all other works. Not everyone has a debit card or e-wallet. For now, only those who have office work or something urgent are travelling by metro. Later, everyone will take the mass transit system, the situation will be different then," he said.
Rohini Bansal, 25, said she tried getting her smart card recharged online but it could not be done due to network issues.
"Money got deducted from my account, but the transaction failed. I waited for 15-20 minutes at Central Secretariat metro station before I left the premises and took an auto to work," she said.
The Delhi Metro resumed services in a graded manner on Monday, with elaborate measure for crowd management and ensuring hygiene to check the spread of virus.
The Yellow Line connecting Samaypur Badli and Huda City Centre in Gurugram was the first one to be opened.
The services resumed at 7 am with strict safety and social distancing measures in place. The trains will operate in batches of four-hour each from 7-11 am in the morning and 4-8 pm in the evening.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
