Ghaziabad: On the exposed 300-metre footbridge linking Ghaziabad rapid rail station and Red Line’s Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda metro station, National Capital Region Transport Corporation, as a part of its stopgap solution, has begun offering umbrellas to commuters braving sun and rain.The arrangement is straightforward: borrow an umbrella, cross the bridge and leave it on the railing. As of now, over 100 umbrellas have been made available. But 10 to 15 umbrellas, officials said, go missing daily despite signage requesting their return.“This is a temporary arrangement. It will continue till a shade and travellators are installed on the bridge,” an official from the corporation said. “The umbrellas have been hung on the railings on both sides of the bridge and commuters are advised to use them while crossing and hang them on the railing on the other side.”The corporation has also placed signboards requesting commuters to leave the umbrellas on the other side. However, on average, either 10 to 15 umbrellas are going missing every day, or they are being left on the side of the bridge carelessly.“We have to maintain umbrella stock because some of it either gets damaged or is taken away by commuters, so we replenish it every day,” said the official. “However, safety and convenience of commuters is more important to us and we will keep on providing it as long as it requires.”The footbridge connecting the two stations became operational in Feb this year. With rising temperature, TOI reported last month that commuters have been avoiding it.“We deboard a rapid rail train and then board the metro on the Red Line. Both trains are air-conditioned. But while making the change, you have to walk under the blazing sun,” a daily commuter, Shivangi Misra, had said. She felt that the walk was “endless”. Many of the commuters have even started using the stretch under the footbridge. They said it was easier to brave encroachments and navigate through a car park and crowded auto stands than to tackle the blazing sun.The 300-m footbridge has been constructed by the corporation as a part of its multimodal integration to seamlessly connect RRTS stations with other transport modes — metro, Indian Railways, buses and airports. But only half the work on the footbridge was complete before it was thrown open to the public.The corporation initiated the process of procuring the travellator in 2025 and the tenders for the same have also been awarded, and their installation will begin in the coming month. Once the travellators are installed, the corporation will start putting a shade on the bridge. The work is expected to be completed only by next year. Till then, commuters will need to take cover under the black umbrellas.
