Delhi metro allows 2 sealed bottles of alcohol per person

Passengers can now carry two sealed bottles of alcohol per person inside Delhi Metro, Delhi officials said on Friday. However, drinking of alcohol inside metro premises is still strictly prohibited.

Metro passengers are requested to maintain proper decorum while travelling, the DMRC said.

Carrying of alcohol was banned in the Delhi Metro till recent except on the Airport Express Line, the DMRC said in a statement in response to a query from PTI.

“However, subsequently, a committee comprising officials from the CISF and DMRC have reviewed the list and as per the revised list, two sealed bottles of alcohol per person is allowed to be carried on the Delhi Metro at par with the provisions on the Airport Express Line,” it said.

The decision has received sharp criticism from woman activist Annie Raja, who said it will be difficult to ensure that people do not drink inside the metro premises and demanded that the decision be rolled back.

“This violates all the safety and security measures for women. It is difficult to ensure that people will not open the bottles inside the metro. Women do not necessarily travel only in women’s coaches. They also travel in other coaches too. This should be withdrawn by the authorities,” she said.

According to the Delhi Metro, a committee comprising officials from the CISF and the DMRC have reviewed the list of items allowed to be carried in trains. According to the revised list, two sealed bottles of alcohol per person are allowed to be carried on the Delhi Metro at par with the provisions on the Airport Express Line.

In case, any passenger is found behaving in an indecent manner under the influence of alcohol, suitable action will be taken against them under the relevant provisions of law, officials said.

With the Delhi Metro allowing passengers to carry two sealed bottles of alcohol each, a woman activist on Friday said the decision would frustrate women safety measures and demanded its rollback even as the police assured that there would be strick vigil and action against anyone creating “nuisance”.

A senior officer of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is tasked with metro security, said the decision was taken to bring uniformity in rules across the metro network.