BENGALURU: In order to reduce the alarming levels of noise and air pollution in the city, Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan said on Friday that electronic autorickshaws will soon ply in
the city.
Speaking to members of various autorickshaw and taxi drivers’ associations, he said that he recently spoke to doctors from NIMHANS and learnt that drivers between the ages of 35-40 suffer heart attacks and that around 25% of drivers suffer from heart ailments. “There is a need to curtail the rising air pollution levels, especially because auto drivers are exposed to pollution,” he said.
The transport officials said that they were preparing a draft for this and said that drivers will also get a subsidy when they switch from LPG, petrol and diesel, to electric autorickshaws.
The associations’ members held a meeting with the Transport Department and listed out a series of demands. The DyCM directed the department’s officials to ensure drivers are insured. He said that a mere accident insurance from the Labour Department was insufficient.
He also urged drivers to form a welfare board to ensure that they can be directly contacted and can avail relevant schemes. This would help them avail all social welfare schemes, he added. On the drivers’ demand for housing, he said that they should apply for the same under the CM’s one lakh housing programme.
“So far only 45,000 applications have been received and 55,000 applications
are remaining. The
drivers should make use of it,” he said. He urged drivers to get their BPL cards so that they can avail government schemes.