Mumbai’s Metro Aqua Line 3 is now showing booming ridership with commuters using it to travel between Jogeshwari and Cuffe Parade. Cabs and BEST buses have recorded a drop in passengers. There is festive good cheer all around. Yet, we also have downers like people spitting and littering the brand new rapid transit system.

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) has banned the carrying of tobacco, cigarettes, lighters, gas cylinders, alcohol, pet animals, and any other flammable materials. Yet, despite these prohibitions, commuters continue to flout the rules, leaving behind unsightly stains of tobacco spit across the stations. Newly built Metro stations are already losing their sheen due to the red marks of tobacco and paan spittle on walls and platforms.