Delhi Metro on alert: Police to perform security audit on TETRA system

The Delhi Metro, in a span of over 10 years, has become synonymous with safe, comfortable and efficient travel in the ever growing National Capital Region (NCR). But, a recent audit has found several security vulnerabilities in the Metro stations, especially the ones running underground.

Conducted by the Delhi government's transport department, the safety audit found that the security at the stations needs to be strengthened further.

Commuters enter the Metro stations with their luggage and can easily ply to the ticket counters without their baggage getting checked. The luggage is scanned only before the commuter goes towards the automatic fare collection gates. Threats loom large over the access points to the Metro stations and the unpaid area of the stations as there are no provisions to secure these areas, the report, released on Monday, said.

The Delhi Metro ferries nearly 2.5 million passengers and makes over 2,800 trips daily. "Security is lenient, especially at the underground metro stations from the entry point to the ticketing area. During peak hours, even these stations cater to more than 4,000 people and one can easily carry a explosives inside their bag and strategically place it around the ticket counter," a transport official told MAILTODAY.

The transport department, which consulted the Delhi Police for the exercise early this month, had deputed eight teams to perform the security audit. Contrary to general perception, the teams found that there was a shortage of CISF personnel at the Metro stations. At present, there are 4,653 CISF personnel deployed at the Metro circuits, out of which 2,850 are armed.

Another worrying fact is the presence of drug addicts at and around the entry points of sta-Safety audit finds security gaps at underground Metro stations tions. It added that these addicts were creating nuisance, especially after the dark.

'Walkie-talkies', technically known as Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), fail to work inside the Metro, especially in the underground route, the report said. In August, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had asked the Delhi Metro to install 'repeaters' that boost the signals required for the smooth functioning of the TETRA radio wireless communication system.

As per the DDMA, the system is unable to function in the underground tunnel area due to weak signals. "If there was an emergency situation, it would be very difficult to communicate and seek for the disaster management team because of the weak network. In case of any emergency, we need to communicate with various departments such as fire, civic bodies or hospitals. All these agencies are connected on the Tetra network," a senior DDMA official said.

When confronted, the DMRC said new 'repeaters' have been installed but the exact count cannot be revealed due to security reasons. "For security reasons, we can't reveal the total number of devices installed," a DMRC official said.

Source: MCCResources