Lalita Kumari, who works as a security official at the Lekhraj Market metro, feels there’s no need for a women’s coach in the Lucknow metro, because thankfully, “nothing untoward has happened”. Ask her why she’s carrying a lathi though, and she says that monkeys have been wreaking havoc at many metro stations and troubling passengers. “Hum sab ko hi lathi rakhne ko bola gaya hai,” says she.Why aren’t people using the metro though? Does everyone have a vehicle in the city of Nawabs? Is there a last-mile connectivity issue? Do people not know how to go about using the metro? Are the fares too high?A female passenger, who was using the metro for the first time, said she had never felt the need to use the metro because she has a car and a driver at home, and also because she’s not accustomed to traveling in the metro.Kumari, however, says that in recent months, she has noticed a change. “Ever since the markets opened after the lockdowns, more people have started using the metro. And now that institutions have reopened, students and office-goers are also using the metro. Now you can see a few fully crowded coaches.”
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