'Very sad' to see Delhi metro going out of reach for poor: Kejriwal on CSE report

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that he felt “very sad” that the Delhi Metro had become out of reach of common man, reacting to a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report, which claimed that Delhi Metro was the second most unaffordable metro system in the world.

Kejriwal added that all those who had given up metro were contributing to Delhi’s pollution by using road-based transport.

As CM of Delhi, I feel v sad that such an important means of transport has become out of reach of common man. All those who have given up metro are now contributing to Delhi’s pollution by using road based tpt pic.twitter.com/1PVim6kCJV

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 5, 2018

The CSE in its report on Tuesday, said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is the second most unaffordable metro system in the world among metro systems where the cost for a 10-km trip is less than half-a-US dollar, in terms of percentage of income spent for using it while asserting Delhi Metro has received nearly 32 per cent less than the number of daily passengers it had hoped to serve this year.

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Meanwhile, the DMRC had on Wednesday rubbished the report as “misleading” and not based on facts and data, saying the study compared “very selected metros”.

“This study is conveniently comparing DMRC with very selected metros across the world. Why don’t you compare with big metros,” said DMRC MD Mangu Singh.

The other cities considered in the report were - Buenos Aires, Cairo, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kiev, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Singh also asked how can Delhi Metro be the second most unaffordable metro in the world, when there were other metros like Lucknow, Chennal and Kochi within the country that had higher fares than Delhi Metro.

Also Read | CSE report misleading, not based on facts: DMRC

Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Pankaj Gupta said Delhi’s ranking is “shameful”, alleging that the BJP-led central government never bothered to reduce the fare, despite knowing that the metro has been out of reach for many people.

“When metro was opened in the country, we thought it would become ride for the common man and lessen the burden of traffic but what has happened is quite the contrary. Today the daily use products are out of reach for the common people. It is high time when the Centre must pay serious attention at the rising prices and reduce the fare of metro so that the projected figure of 2016 must be brought to reality,” Gupta said.

(With inputs from agencies)