Metro accident victim moves court, seeks Rs.50 lakh relief

NEW DELHI - Twentytwo-year-old Mehjabi who lost her legs in a freak accident at a Metro station in March moved the Delhi High Court Thursday seeking a compensation of Rs.50 lakh from Delhi Metro and a government job.

In her petition, she demanded that the safety standards at Metro stations be improved.

Hearing the petition, Justice S. Muralidhar asked the Delhi Metro to file its reply by Jan 12, 2011.

Through her petition, she asked the court to pass directions to the Delhi Metro to provide a 24-hour ambulance service at busy stations and at all stations during the rush hour. She also demanded a government job.

Security personnel should be deployed at all stations to manage the surging crowds. The customer service staff and other personnel should be trained to deal with situations of emergency - a common feature of major metro stations across the globe,’ she said in her petition.

The Delhi Metro must install emergency help buttons which can be activated to report disturbances and to summon help during an emergency, said the petition.

She also said that the Delhi Metro must appoint a 24×7 doctor at the busiest metro stations to assist the needy in times of emergency.

The Metro must be directed to install passenger alarms at eye-level in carriages near the double doors and talk back facilities built into these alarms so that passengers can explain to trained staff the problem faced. Also adequate number of CCTV cameras must be installed, the petition said.

The petition said that the Delhi Metro must start a safety course for its employees so that that they are equipped with the necessary skills to deal with an accident.

Emergency stop plungers should be installed which can be used to stop an approaching train from entering the station. If the train is already at the platform, it will be prevented from moving off, said the petition.

In her petition, she alleged that the Metro employees who rescued her were not trained to handle a case of emergency.

The Metro employees who went to check on the petitioner (after she came under a train) were neither trained in the administration of first aid nor did they offer medication to stop bleeding, it said.

The 22-year-old was doing her journalism course in her hometown Dehradun, and was close to landing a job with a news agency when the incident occurred.

She received artificial limbs free of cost in May from an NGO.