Hundreds stranded as Aqua Line security staff strike work

Hundreds of passengers were stranded between Noida and Greater Noida after private security personnel deployed at the Aqua Line Metro stations struck work for two hours on Wednesday morning, officials said.

They were protesting against the non-payment of salary by their security agency.

The officials said the security of the Aqua Line stations primarily came under the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary and Ironman Security Services looked after after the general security and frisking of passengers.

The security staff deployed by the security agency struck work from 6 am to 8 am.

Senior officials of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC), which operates the Aqua Line, said the matter had been taken "very seriously" and considered as a "lapse in security".

They said action had been sought against the erring staff, with the security firm assuring that such incident won't be repeated in future and their staff would be paid salary on the seventh of every month.

The security staff deployed by the security agency refused to carry out checking at the Sector 81, 83, 101, 137 and NSEZ Metro stations, the NMRC officials said.

"The staff of the private security agency abandoned their positions at the stations. This caused a lot of inconvenience to passengers as they could not enter the stations without necessary security checks," they said.

According to the officials, several commuters had to arrange for other modes of transportation.

"The NMRC has taken the matter very seriously and considering this incident as a lapse in security. It has asked the security agency to submit an explanation regarding the incident,"said a rail operator.

He said the NMRC had warned the security agency that it would be disqualified if such an incident was repeated in future.

In response to the warning, the security agency has submitted an "unconditional apology", regretting the "inconvenience and embarrassment" caused to the NMRC due to this incident.

"They have also assured that no employee of the security agency would ever go on strike," the NMRC officials said.

Opened to the public on January 26 this year, the Aqua Line connects Noida and Greater Noida, covering a stretch of 29.7 km through 21 metro stations. Around 14,000 passengers use the Metro service daily.