Bizarre rule: You cannot carry camera inside Lucknow metro without a luggage bag!

The Lucknow metro started its journey on the 5th of September, 2017. It has been 4 months since then and after a few on and off issues, a new criteria emerged recently.

The running has mostly been smooth and no temporary issue came to notice. However, recently there supposedly has been a new addition to the Lucknow metro rulebook. People have been stopped and refused to carry professional cameras or compact cameras inside the metro.

The officials at the security gates stopped the travelers from carrying DSLR’s and small compact cameras. Whereas in Delhi and Mumbai metro, no such rule is there and people carry whatever is necessary for them.

The officials off the record said that it has been done to stop people from taking pictures of other passengers and cause any harm to co-passengers privacy. They mentioned that people can carry cameras inside their luggage bags but not separately.

What about phone cameras?

People are allowed to carry smartphones, which at times have better picture taking capabilities these days. Likes of OnePlus, Pixel and iPhone can take quick pictures and their image processing power is far superior to compact cameras.

Selfies are also banned, videography is also not allowed in metro premises but you will definitely find people taking pictures. The issue of not allowing camera is very subjective in nature.

People use metro for daily commute. Be it for work or leisure and people may work in the field of photography. So if you won’t allow them to carry their work gadget in a metro, then how do you think will they travel safely or commute to their workplace using public transport?

There has been no such official announcement till now by the government but the public is curious and the majority is objecting to this new LMRC rule.

Recently, in November, after 70 days of operation Lucknow metro had crossed a footfall of 10 lakh people. By 2019, we are expecting the full North-South corridor to become operational. The work is going on in full swing and these issues must be addressed before the corridor becomes operational.