THIRUVANATHYAPURAM: It seems that the initiative by the AITUC-affiliated Motor Thozhilali Union to change the public perception of the autorickshaw drivers and improve the relationship between drivers and passengers has failed miserably. At least that is the picture one gets from the number of autorickshaw drivers booked by the city police in the past two days for misbehaving with the passengers.
The Union had observed Jana Maithri Day and distributed cards carrying the message ‘Let the friendship between autorickshaw drivers and passengers grow; let us respect each other’ on August 15.
As many as 12 drivers have been reportedly caught red-handed and petty cases charged from Thampanoor alone for various offences like demanding excess fares from passengers and also refusing to ply to places not to their liking. The police had intensified their drive to nab such drivers during the past couple of days.
The move was as part of a latest directive from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ch. Nagaraju to book the autorickshaw drivers, who caused any kind of difficulty to passengers. The DCP had given special directions to Thampanoor and Fort police to be on vigil since these two areas experienced the maximum rush of travellers.
‘’The number of complaints regarding autorickshaw drivers harassing the passengers has been increasing each day,’’ said Nagaraju on launching the drive. The drivers harassed the travellers in order to exploit them, mostly during the peak hours and during nights. The phenomenon was noticed to be rampant in locations near Thampanoor and East Fort.
It was also brought to the notice of the police that a majority of the autorickshaws servicing in the city did not have permits. The policemen were also directed to nab the drivers of such vehicles, the DCP said. He also said that the police checking would continue in the coming days also.
Meanwhile, Pattom Sasidharan, general secretary of the Motor Thozhilali Union, said that the police move would not help to bring about any change in the present scenario. According to him, it was the Motor Vehicles Department, rather than the police, who should take action.
‘’The authorities should prepare a list of all the autorickshaws in the city and also assign them specific areas for their service,’’ suggested Sasidharan as a solution to the problem of autos refusing to ply to distant places.
‘’The Government should also introduce a system to fix the fares whenever the Centre hikes the fuel prices. This way, the problem of drivers demanding illegitimate charges from passengers could also be avoided,’’ he said.
Sasidharan also said that out of an approximate 15,000 autorickshaws plying in the city, over 10,000 did not have any permit. The Motor Vehicles Department should take immediate steps to issue new permits so that illegal autorickshaw drivers, who often created most of the problems, could be restricted from hitting the city roads.
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