Commuters face long waits, poor lighting at Mumbai Metro’s Aarey–JVLR terminal

While the Mumbai Metro Aqua Line is now fully operational commuters alighting at its terminal station mdash AareyndashJVLR mdash are facing major inconvenience during evening peak hours The area outside the station is poorly lit and with limited access to public transport passengers are often left waiting up to 45 minutes to get homeOn the first day of the full linersquos opening midday visited the AareyndashJVLR Metro station and found several commuters stranded outside waiting for autos cabs or buses To reach the main JogeshwarindashVikhroli Link Road JVLR passengers must walk through a dimly lit stretchPoorly lit exits outside the AareyJVLR Metro stationCommuters speakldquoAqua Line is very comfortable but getting to and from the station is a nightmarerdquo said Deepti Agrawal a JVLR resident ldquoYou end up waiting 30 to 60 minutes just to get an auto or cab Unless this issue is fixed many wonrsquot prefer the Metro for daily travelrdquoRashmi Kanekar a resident of Oberoi Splendour said ldquoThe Metro ride from JVLR to Acharya Atre is quick and smooth But getting a rickshaw or Uber from AareyndashJVLR to home can be frustratingrdquoAbhishek Patil Yuva Sena UBT member and JVLR resident pointed out safety lapses ldquoThe area outside the station is dark and chaotic We urgently need a pedestrian signal or a foot overbridge for safe crossing Therersquos no proper parking either mdash twowheelers are parked haphazardly Poor lighting also makes women vulnerable to theft or harassmentrdquoCommuters wait on the road for transport outside the AareyndashJVLR Metro stationDaily commuter Nishta Mehta agreed ldquoGetting an auto from AareyndashJVLR is a task Unless one is waiting right outside the station itrsquos at least a halfhour waitrdquo Another commuter added ldquoI have to book a cab before boarding the Metro otherwise Irsquom stranded And when rides get cancelled itrsquos pitch dark mdash auto drivers canrsquot even see usrdquo Rathin Chakravarti visiting the station for the first time said ldquoItrsquos shocking Inside the Metro looks worldclass but step outside and itrsquos complete chaos mdash no streetlights no proper auto standrdquoSamyukta Roy another regular commuter echoed the sentiment ldquoAfter a long day all we want is a quick ride home But instead we wait endlessly because therersquos no organised pickup point or auto standrdquoNitya Dwivedi a Malad resident added ldquoWersquore forced to rely on appbased cabs or autos that accept rides by chance The poor lighting is worrying though the crowd at 8 pm gives some sense of safetyrdquoSeveral women commuters with luggage and senior citizens were seen struggling to reach the main road weaving through a jammed service lane just to find a rideOCT 8Day Metro was inaugurated45 minsTime passengers have to wait to find transportMetro gets paan initiation on Day 2Barely a day after Mumbairsquos brandnew Aqua Line Metro 3 became fully operational commuters have begun defacing the system leaving behind paan stains food wrappers and spit marksAt CSMT station where the subway entry connects directly to the Metro heaps of litter were spotted on Thursday turning the sleek new corridor into a sorry sight ldquoWe had hoped people would treat this worldclass infrastructure with carerdquo said a Metro staffer on duty at CSMT ldquoInstead on just Day 2 wersquore already seeing stains and litterrdquo A commuter said ldquoItrsquos disheartening to see people disrespecting something meant for public conveniencerdquo he saidOfficials said security teams have been instructed to intensify vigilance and are considering fines if commuters Metro security staff have also begun confiscating lighters matchboxes inflammable materials before entryRajendra B Aklekar