The number of tipsy travellers in Delhi's metro rail run by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) went up by over three times in 2018 as compared to the previous year, according to the statistics of the DMRC.
As many as 1,416 drunken passengers were fined in 2018, while the number of such fines in 2017 was 476.
Most of the tipsy travellers are said to be boarding metro trains from the stations in central Delhi, which has quite a number of pubs, bars, clubs and other drinking joints.
From 2014 to 2018, as many as 3,601 commuters have been fined for travelling in an intoxicated state, and a total of 1.8 million Indian Rupees collected as fines from them, each paying 500 Indian Rupees, a report in English daily The Times of India said on Thursday while quoting the DMRC data.
Despite proper warning boards installed at the metro stations against travelling in drunken state, many people flout the rules, the paper quoted a DMRC spokesman as saying.
While the DMRC is tasked with the maintenance of the metro infrastructure, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) handles the law and order within the metro rail premises.
According to CISF officials, there have been instances when they had to drop tipsy commuters home or to a safe location. In March last year, the personnel had to drop a woman home after she was not allowed to board the metro train at Samaipur Badli for being too drunk, reports Xinhua.
A tipsy person is allowed to travel in metro rail if he or she has a friend or associate with him or her. Officials said there have been instances where drunk passengers have got into brawl with other passengers and even tried to jump on the tracks.
