The Delhi metro was the NCR’s nervous system and without it, its economy is in a coma. Is it worth the risk to resume services?

The Coronavirus has claimed many lives — not just the close to 60,000 dead that we know of in India but the entire economy, which has gone into a tailspin. A report by the economic think tank, CMIE, claims that over five million salaried employees lost their jobs in the past month. Truth be told, many people — even those who have jobs — are finding it almost impossible to get to work as public transport systems have been paralysed ever since the pandemic laid waste to the country. While some major public transport systems like the Mumbai suburban train system have restarted, services are minimal and limited to few users. As the “unlocking” process continues, should Indian cities look at a partial restart of mass public transit systems such as the Delhi metro?

If one were to cross any of Delhi’s multitude of entry points from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, one would notice a fleet of vans parked on either side of the border. These vans transport workers from their workplaces — be it offices, factories, shops or restaurants — back home. Sometimes as many as eight to 10 people are cramped inside a vehicle designed for six people at the most, all norms of social distancing going for a toss. However, available data so far indicate that the number of cases has stabilised and that major cities are seeing an active reduction in new cases. While this does not mean that an unfettered opening of major public transportation systems should be allowed, a gradual opening with limited services and lines initially can start with mask usage inside the system being made mandatory and a temperature check being added to the security checkpoint. If it emerges that there is an explosion of cases in the next few weeks, we can shut things down again. The problem is that we have reached a point where the economic fallout from the virus is emerging as the biggest potential killer in the country. Families across the country and income groups are stretched and need things to restart. This financial year is a dead loss but if we are to ensure that the next year also does not come to a grinding halt, we have to take some actions now. The longer India stays shut, the longer it will take for the country to stand up on its own two feet again.