There are around 1 lakh autorickshaws plying in the city with most of them using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) kits which rarely undergo any safety certification after being fitted. By the virtual admission of the auto drivers themselves, safety of LPG autos has been a long neglected issue.
“Before, we used to ride by just using normal cylinders, however, after the notification to install LPG kits was issued a few years ago, most autos have complied with it. The problem is with safety certification. Besides the company’s warranty, we have to get the kits checked after five years, but this is simply not possible since most times the agency which installed the kit would have closed down. Where do we go searching for certificates then?” questioned N Manjunath, president of Aadarsha Auto Union.
He added that rampant corruption and the presence of touts who get fake safety certificates for as less Rs 200-300 made the situation even more grim.
When asked about the safety of passengers in such a situation, Manjunath, however, pointed out that no such instance had been reported yet and said that with the open design of an auto, chances of blasts were less.
“Still that is no reason to ignore safety. The Transport Department must do something about it,” he added. According to RTO officials, a proposal was submitted to the government a month ago to institute a mechanism for checking of LPG kits. Officials are hopeful that the matter would be addressed soon after the elections.
GO says check must
“The Explosives Department has already issued a order that the kits must be checked once in five years. While there is some confusion among the auto drivers about the validity of this order, we have also proposed a checking mechanism to the government,” said Transport Commissioner K R Srinivas.
However, he added that there were some practical issues to be sorted out as well.
“There are only two authorised checking centres in the city and none outside Bangalore. We cannot expect auto drivers from around the state to come to these two centres. It is not realistic. There are practical difficulties which need to be addressed,” he said.
In the meantime, thousands of autos ply in the city without proper safety certificates posing a possible danger to all involved.