Men violate the ‘pink rule’ in Hyderabad Metros

HYDERABAD: Men continue to enter and ride in Metro trains' women-only compartments brazenly, and Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) appears to be ignoring the thousands of complaints made by female passengers.

More than 15,000 complaints about men intruding into women's compartments have been filed with HMRL this year. According to a reliable source, the Whatsapp alert service receives around 100 emergency messages every day about male passengers.

Although the women-only section is prominently marked with large stickers reading "Ladies Only" and "Reserved for Ladies," men nonetheless enter the women's coach. Metro Rail officials have warned passengers that a Rs 200 fine would be imposed on men who enter the women's coach. However, the rule does not seem to be strictly enforced.

Despite the annoyance this has caused among women travellers, HMRL officials stated that they do not have any plans to increase the number of women's coaches. Instead, they would continue to penalise men who enter designated zones for women.

The HMRL introduced Whatsapp number 7032224242 in 2018 for women passengers to lodge complaints if men invade the women's coach. Despite the fact that they received over 15,000 complaints, according to official sources, HMRL was reluctant to disclose the amount of penalties it had collected and the number of complaints that were settled.

K. Akshitha, a student, who uses the Metro Rail daily, claimed that men frequently board the coach designated for women. While travelling between Paradise and Ameerpet, observed that during rush hours, men board the coaches while the security personnel look the other way.

"The purple colour ribbons used for creating a partition with “ladies only” tag are often missing or broken. The security staff in the train and on the platform are merely acting as mute bystanders, despite the HMRL running an automated voice notice to vacate seats in the ladies-only compartment," said T. Namrata, a Metro commuter. Apart from men, couples such as husband-and-wife or girlfriend-boyfriend frequently intrude the women's-only coach, she bemoaned.

According to Metro Rail norms, the next station master will enter the train and ask the offenders to leave their seats when the crew receives a notification on the Whatsapp number about a male passenger in a women's zone. The officials have, however, ceased this practice.

When HMRL MD N.V.S. Reddy was informed of the situation, he stated that the Metro authorities have been conducting routine drives and levying fines. He added that the drives would be made even more intense. When asked about the increase of women coaches, he said that there are no plans to increase the women coaches as of now.