In the age of coronavirus, the only way to stay safe is to maintain social distance and rely on contactless transactions. Since lockdown measures have been relaxed in several states across the country, authorities are trying to come up with innovative safety measures.?
One such ingenious method is this: The Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) has introduced a foot-operated elevator to ensure contactless operation given the outbreak.
According to an NDTV report, the CMRL has become the first metro rail in the country to do so. The CMRL has released a video which shows how this step can help avoid any contact with the lift buttons. The lifts are operated using buttons which are placed on the floor of the lift and these can be touched with one's foot.
Reports state that the CMRL is also planning to include several measures, including warning stickers and marking on floors at stations and on seats inside trains, once it begins operations in the city.
"CMRL has now come up with an ingenious way to avoid hand contact with elevator buttons by providing a foot-operated lift mechanism which will minimise hand contact for the users thereby reducing the virus spread," read a statement from the CMRL.
The idea which has been incorporated in the CMRL Admin Building at Koyambedu is likely to be implemented at metro stations across the city.?The agency has kept the stations open during the lockdown period with 25 per cent staff for maintenance work.
In a similar initiative, Thailand introduced the foot-operated elevator in malls to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in public.