Gutkha stains deface Meerut RRTS station days after inauguration

Bareilly: Barely five days after its inauguration, gutkha (tobacco) stains were spotted at Meerut's newly opened RRTS station on the Delhi–Meerut corridor, which operates Namo Bharat and Meerut Metro services.A video that surfaced on social media on Friday showed tobacco stains across parts of the station premises. Discarded paper tokens used for entry and exit were also seen strewn on the floor instead of being thrown into dustbins.The corridor is managed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC).NCRTC chief public relations officer Puneet Vats said cleanliness drives are conducted regularly at station premises and on trains. Regular announcements are made at stations and on trains urging commuters to maintain cleanliness. "Violation of norms related to cleanliness and defacement of public property is also punishable under the relevant provisions of the law," he said.The video triggered sharp reactions online, with netizens slamming the habit of spitting in public places.A commuter Sandhya Khari told TOI that offenders should be fined heavily and barred from entering stations. "They should be fined at least Rs 5,000 and banned," she said.Another commuter, Aryan Pawar, a student, called for stricter deterrence measures. He suggested that CCTV footage of offenders be used to publicly display their images at the station where the violation occurred.