Terming the Delhi Government’s move to give free rides to women in Metro an “election gimmick”, Delhi Metro’s principal adviser Dr E Sreedharan has hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal dispensation asking if it was flush with money then should assist the Delhi Metro to procure more trains and construct more lines so that the present overcrowding is eased.

He said allowing free travel to women will lead to further overcrowding and mishaps even as he appealed the Delhi Government not to destroy an efficient and successful public transport system such as Delhi Metro for electoral gains. “Everybody knows this is an election gimmick to win votes of women in the next Assembly election,” he said.

He said the Delhi Government has not only delayed giving approval of Metro phase IV corridors by two years but also never come forward to introduce last mile connectivity with bus services.

In a response to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Dr Sreedharan also elaborated the reasons that why the move will prove to be catastrophic for not only Delhi Metro but Metros in other cities without enhancing women’ security in any manner. 

Earlier, Sisodia had written a letter to Sreedharan, after he had written to the Prime Minister against the AAP Government’s move.

Sisodia had said the Delhi Metro has already been running in losses and the Government’s proposal to pay for the women commuters should make the Metro rail authorities happy. “Sir, your stand appears to be a result of misunderstanding about the Delhi Government’s proposal. You will appreciate that after completion of Phase-III of the DMRC, its services were designed to have a capacity of daily ridership of four million,” Sisodia said in his letter.

The 87-year old Sreedharan, former managing director of Delhi Metro and now principal adviser to the Delhi and Lucknow Metros, had in his letter to PM Narendra Modi said the Delhi Metro is running on huge debt and will set a bad precedent for other Metros which are carrying huge debts as well. He cited that metro construction is occurring at a very slow pace due to fund constraints. “Therefore, it may not be easy to attract loans the next time if Metros turn into a debt trap,” the letter read. He further commented that no country in the world offers free metro travel only for women.