From correspondents in Delhi, India, 10:31 AM IST
In a drive to motivate commuters to exercise as well as use its lifts and escalators less frequently, The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has put up posters with the tagline 'stay fit use stairs' in all its stations.
"Genuinely old people and physically handicapped people should use escalators and lifts. But the situation is little different here - even young and healthy people are using them and leaving the stairs empty," said a DMRC spokesman.
He said many Delhiites don't exercise and using stairs will certainly benefit the nearly 700,000 people who commute by the metro every day. He, however, conceded that the drive is not philanthropic.
"It also helps us in a way. While infrastructure can thus be used for a longer time, elderly and other needy people can get the maximum benefit," he told IANS.
He said the awareness drive is quite intensive in Rajiv Chowk and Kashmiri Gate - the two stations most crowded.
"It has started showing results but commuters can really make a difference by making conscious efforts."
Currently, the metro runs over a network of 68 km; 120 km will be added before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
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An exception may be made in this announcement: A large section of our our workforce returns wearied in the evening after a day's work. Many offices are not properly air conditioned or at all, which in the summer wears out the workers too soon after starting work. More lifts could have been built in the first place by better planning, and if possible, provided even now if not too inconvenient.
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