NEW DELHI: The metro opened its ‘shoppers’ corridor’ — the 8.1km Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus-Lajpat Nagar section of Pink Line — on Monday.Though the corridor has six stations, two stations that saw the maximum crowd even on Day 1 were Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar . Commuters could be seen coming out of these stations in droves though both markets were closed on Monday. Only a few shops were open in both, but street vendors had a good day.The stretch, opened to the public after 1pm, connects four major markets — Sarojini Nagar, INA, South Extension and Lajpat Nagar. The other stations are Sir Vishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh and Bhikaji Cama Place.Shagun Dhingra, a student, had come all the way from Gurgaon to visit Sarojini Nagar market. “Though there are many malls in Gurgaon, Sarojiini Nagar offers more variety at much affordable prices and that is why I don’t mind the long journey,” she said. “Earlier, I had to get down at INA station and then take an auto to reach the market. Now, the station is bang opposite it,” she added.“Coming to Sarojini Nagar market from Dwarka was a pain as one had to either change at Rajiv Chowk metro station or brave the huge traffic if coming by an auto. Now I just need to change train at Rajouri Garden, which saves a lot of time and money,” said Reena Negi, who works with a private firm.At the next station – INA – too, many passengers were seen changing train between Yellow Line (Samaypur Badli-HUDA City Centre) and Pink Line to reach Sarojini Nagar. However, the unusual topography of the interchange area stumped many. As the Pink Line station is built above the existing tunnel of Yellow Line, passengers have to go below the platform to reach the Yellow Line station, confusing many on the first day despite ample signage. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has deployed a guard at the interchange point to guide passengers, who had his hands full on Monday.Although the South Extension station didn’t see many shoppers, a large number of students were seen as the area has a large number of coaching institutes and other private institutes.“I’m doing a language course from an institute here and earlier had to take a bus or an auto from Moolchand to come here. Now my journey has become much more comfortable,” said Neha Taneja, a resident of Faridabad.The first metro station in the area has also made its residents happy as they can now avoid the traffic congestion on the nearby Ring Road.“Earlier the closest metro station was INA. Thanks to the metro, I can now travel in airconditioned comfort and not bother about traffic,” said Rekha Chaudhry, a resident.Many commuters also went market hopping. “We just finished shopping at Lajpat Nagar and are now going to Sarojini Nagar. It won’t take more than a few minutes now,” said Divya Tripathi, a student.The entire 59km Pink Line, the longest in the Delhi Metro network, will become operational by September — between Shiv Vihar and Trilokpuri in August and between Lajpat Nagar and Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 in September.

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