Commuters cool about 4-day E-W train block

Kolkata: Today's pain is tomorrow's gain: That's what most passengers TOI spoke to felt when told about the suspension of East-West Metro services—prolonged or otherwise.
"Why did they open the Howrah Maidan-Esplanade section without completing the Sealdah-Esplanade stretch? This may have been a boon for hundreds of commuters, but now comes the tougher job of suspending services. Otherwise, the system becomes flawed, doesn't it? I think I would rather choose a complete and flawless transport system instead of settling for anything less," said Baishali De, a Sector V employee, who takes the Green Line 1 or East-West Metro's Sealdah-Sector V stretch to work every day. She travels by train to Sealdah from her Habra home to take the East-West Metro.
Many passengers were already aware of the issues. Rupali Sinha, a govt teacher who commutes from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade (East-West under-river section) daily, said, "I take the Esplanade interface to travel to my school in Belgachhia. Can't imagine going back to buses and app-cab days. But what must be done must be done. Why is the city being gifted half-done projects?"
A communications executive and resident of Howrah's Panchanantala Road, Korak Basu, has started opting for other modes of transport. "I read about the possible 45-day closure. I do complain about the inconvenience, as I have to squeeze into overcrowded metro trains since Nov as services were curtailed to speed up the incomplete section. But I know all this is for a greater good. I want the authorities to make E-W Metro Kolkata's pride," he said.
Anubrata Das, a Bidyut Bhavan employee, wasn't thinking of the eventuality. "Tell me, how is one supposed to travel to Salt Lake all the way from Beckbagan without the metro? We are so used to it now. With bus routes disappearing every day, metro is the only transport lifeline." Listening to him was Sayantan Saha, an IT executive. "Aren't we supposed to strengthen the lifeline instead of making it vulnerable or even unsafe? Today's sacrifice will help in the long run given that metro is the only hope amid the receding bus fleet and the expensive app cabs. Metro Railway authorities and citizens must act responsibly. The onus is on both," said Saha.