GUWAHATI: The Delhi Police has asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to consider closing entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations from Friday night, October 9, ahead of a planned protest at Jantar Mantar and other locations in the New Delhi district on Saturday.
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In a letter issued on Thursday, Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport Range) Rajneesh Gupta requested the DMRC to close the gates from 9 PM on Friday and keep them closed on Saturday until the “situation normalises”. He also suggested reducing the frequency of metro trains passing through the identified stations.
The proposed restrictions come ahead of a protest planned by the Cockroach Janta Party and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
The letter, addressed to DMRC Managing Director Vikas Kumar, asked the metro corporation to issue necessary instructions to its officers and staff to implement the proposed measures.
The Delhi Police has introduced several security and traffic restrictions ahead of the protest, including curbs on app-based taxis and the deployment of central armed forces, as authorities prepare for the expected gathering.
In a separate development, Indian Railways has cancelled all Mail and Express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations between 4 AM and 2 PM on Saturday. The cancellations were announced over concerns about severe road traffic congestion around the two stations.
The 57 metro stations identified by the Delhi Police include Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, ITO, Delhi Gate, Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Supreme Court, Indraprastha, INA, Hauz Khas, Jamia Millia Islamia, Shaheen Bagh, Welcome, Azadpur and Rohini West.
Other stations on the list include Lok Kalyan Marg, Khan Market, R.K. Ashram Marg, Jangpura, Sarai Kale Khan-Nizamuddin, Ashram, Kalindi Kunj, Jamia, Chawri Bazar, Jama Masjid, Karol Bagh, Rajendra Place, Vishwavidyalaya, Vidhan Sabha, Civil Lines, Shastri Nagar, G.T.B. Nagar, Kanhaiya Nagar, Netaji Subhash Place, Adarsh Nagar, Jahangir Puri, Haiderpur Badli Mor, Majlis Park, Shalimar Bagh, Seelampur, Maujpur, Jafrabad, Yamuna Vihar, Khazuri Khas, Shahdara, Rithala and Rohini East.
The proposed restrictions cover stations across central, south, north, east and northeast Delhi. The final implementation of the metro measures will depend on the DMRC’s response to the police request.
