Twin disruptions in the north-south corridor (Blue Line) of Metro Railway, the first caused by waterlogging in the underground tunnel and the second by a suicide, crippled the city’s transport lifeline for hours on Monday, tormenting thousands of commuters on the first working day of the week.
Many parts of the city were lashed by overnight rain and multiple sharp spells early on Monday. Parts of Central Avenue, MG Road, and adjoining lanes were waterlogged, resulting in severe traffic congestion. The disruption in Metro, with waterlogging and traffic congestion, turned the commute into a nightmare for multitudes of office-goers and students in the city.
Waterlogging was reported between Central and Chandni Chowk stations around 9.05am. The stretch was made fit for operations at 11am, a Metro official said.
The carrier ran truncated services between Dakshineswar and Girish Park and between New Garia and Maidan, but it was far from enough. There was no service between Maidan and Girish Park. The heart of the city' office para was inaccessible by Metro for two hours.
The ripple effect was felt on the roads above. Overcrowded buses waited in long snarls, while app cabs charged extra.
Subhajit Bandhopadhyay, 25, who manages accounts for a computer peripherals unit in Chandni Chowk, said he was unaware of the Metro disruption when he reached Tollygunge station.
“I had already punched my card and entered the station when I heard the announcement,” he said.
Bandhopadhyay booked a bike to reach his office.
“I had to reach by 10am. The bike ride cost me ₹200, and even then I got delayed because of a huge traffic snarl near the Maidan,” he said.
Sanjib Biswas, 52, chief accountant at an IT support and computer manufacturing company, takes the Metro daily from Baranagar to Chandni Chowk.
“Today, I boarded the metro from Baranagar, but the train stopped at every station for 5 to 8 minutes. I got off at Shyambazar and took a bus to Chandni Chowk, but the traffic was so heavy that I reached the office at 12.15pm instead of 10am,” said Biswas.
Full services between New Garia and Dakshineswar resumed at 10.58am.
At 11.20am, an man jumped in front of a New Garia-bound Metro at Belgachhia station.
Barun Dey, 69, a resident of Ashoknagar in North 24-Parganas, was declared dead at RG Kar hospital, police said.
A traffic block was put in place to retrieve the man from the tracks. The carrier was forced to run a truncated service for more than an hour.
Trains ran between Dakshineswar and Noapara in the north and between Girish Park and New Garia in the south. Full services were restored at 11.20pm.
A senior Metro official said the reason for the water seepage was being investigated. “Two committees have been instituted to find the reason. They are expected to submit a report soon,” he said.
The older stations and tunnels in north-south Metro, the oldest Metro in the country, were built in the 1980s.
“The M20 grade cement used in constructing the tunnels is porous. Some seepage is inevitable,” said an engineer.
On Saturday, a “civil engineering problem” between JD Park and Netaji Bhavan had disrupted Metro services for over an hour.
Metro has engaged consulting agency Rites to conduct a study on how to overhaul the Metro tunnels between Tollygunge and Dum Dum. This includes the civil structures and tracks.