HYDERABAD: Even though cab registration is in place to ensure safety of commuters, there is no such measure for autos yet and a lot of auto drivers who operate in the city are unaccounted for. Cyberabad police feel that this is an issue that needs to be addressed by the transport department immediately.
“We do not have a system for autos and I feel the transport department has no control over them. We don’t know who is driving these autos as drivers keep changing everyday. None of them runs on meters and many of them don’t even have a driving licence,” pointed out CV Anand, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad.
Transport officials, while admitting the existence of the problem, refused to agree that they have no control over the auto drivers. “We conduct constant checks on these drivers. We are constantly working to address it,” said D Dasaradham, RTO, Hyderabad.
One of the requirements to get a licence for auto drivers is that it is mandatory to submit an eighth class pass certificate. However, with most auto drivers having never gone to school, many of them operate without a licence in the city. “We have requested all those who don’t have an 8th grade pass certificate to join the National Open School in Telangana, which is offering courses and will provide certificate at the end of the course,” Dasaradham said.
While female commuters in the city have called for better safety measures to be implemented in cabs, they feel that banning the service altogether is not the right solution. Many are of the opinion that an attempt to ban cab services is only an attempt to make a scapegoat out of the incident rather than tackling the larger issue at hand. “I feel banning web-based cabs completely is a bit too extreme. There have been incidents of rapes taking place in buses and trains too? Will they ban buses next? Will they stop the Delhi Metro from functioning,” questioned Kirti Rao, a French teacher. “There is definitely scope for better security measures but banning the service is not the solution,” she added.
Ayesha Sameera, an IT professional, voiced similar views. “I think these cab services are really convenient and if I have to go to the airport, I can avail the services of these cabs within five minutes. It would be wrong to ban them because of one isolated incident,” the techie pointed out.
Several women feel that placing a ban on the vehicles is choosing an easy way-out for the government and is not the right way to deal with an issue.