BENGALURU: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) on Wednesday fixed the minimum balance to be maintained in contactless smartcards, which commuters carry for Metro travel, at Rs 50. This means if the balance on your card is any less Metro station gates won't open. BMRCL chief public relations officer BL Yeshavanth Chavan said: “In order to save Metro commuters the inconvenience of having to top up their smartcards at destination stations, the minimum balance on a card henceforth has to be Rs 50 at the originating station. This has come into effect from the evening of March 27, 2019.”

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Although BMRCL appealed that the hiking of minimum balance (from Rs 8 to Rs 50) was to guarantee hassle-free travel, many passengers have expressed disapproval about the move. A set of commuters staged a flash protest before Malleswaram Metro station, demanding BMRCL withdraw the rule, on Wednesday evening.

On BMRCL decision, an enraged passenger wanted to know why he should maintain a balance of Rs 50 when many of his trips cost less than Rs 25. "If we allow this to happen, the corporation will further hike the deposit in the coming days. Though we staged a protest, no BMRCL official came to hear our grievances," said a commuter. With Metro already having sold about 15 lakh smartcards, Rs 50 minimum balance means Rs 7.5 core in its kitty at any given point of time. 

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