Delhi Metro on fresh cleanliness drive

India's medal hopes during the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi may be as forlorn as ever, but the state government and civic corporation are determined to at least present a clean face to visitors.

To further this objective, the Delhi Metropolitan Regional Corporation (DMRC) has launched another drive to rein in commuters found spitting, littering or defacing Metro Railway property.

According to officials, four special flying squads consisting of Metro officials have been created and are conducting surprise checks almost every day on different routes to catch erring commuters. In March, the squads registered 195 cases of spitting and 62 cases of defacement.

''Thousands of foreign visitors are expected to use the Metro system during the Games, and we want to maintain world-class civic standards in all our trains and stations.

For this, we are taking a number of measures to instil better civic sense among the commuters,'' a DMRC spokesperson said today.

''The station staff has been specifically told to keep a close eye on commuters and fine those spitting, littering or defacing the Metro premises. The station managers and controllers are authorised to levy a penalty from the offending commuters, and have been issued 'Authorised for Penalty' identity cards,'' the spokesperson added.