Passenger footfall at Pragati Maidan Metro station breached all previous records on Sunday, three days before the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IITF) comes to an end. The Metro station witnessed an all-time rush on the day with 1,32,000 passengers, who had visited the station till 6 pm.

Delhi Metro said that it is expecting another 50,000 commuters in the remaining hours of the day. The record footfall crowded the Metro station, especially during the evening, with excruciatingly long queues to enter and exit the station.

The average footfall recorded at Pragati Maidan is 25,000 on normal days. The previous ridership record achieved last year at the metro station was 1,07,000. Commuters whined that due to long-winded queues, it was taking excruciatingly long to enter or leave the Metro station.

“The entry points available on the normal days were shut and only one gate was available to enter and exit the station. Due to this, long queues were formed to enter the station and even the security checks were taking longer compared to other days. The ladies’ queue to enter the station was inching along,” said Priyanka Sharma, a Delhi University student, who had come to visit the Trade Fair with her family.

Even the metro trains were running packed to capacity due to the weekend rush at the trade fair. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) however said that the crowd and ticket management, including security checks were being managed smoothly to ensure that the passengers are not inconvenienced in any manner. “Inside the Trade Fair too, the DMRC officials are guiding and making announcements for the visitors to purchase metro tickets and cards from special counters inside Gate No. 10 of the Metro station to avoid the last minute rush. Senior officials and staff at the station and inside the Trade Fair are guiding and facilitating the visitors since morning,” said a spokesperson with DMRC. Traffic bottlenecks were witnessed at Pragati Maidan and ITO in the evening as huge rush of trade fair visitors was also seen outside the Metro station, slowing down the traffic outside the Metro station.