Auto-rickshaws flout norms, ferry passengers above permissible limit

Kolkata: Despite strict vigilance and preventive measures undertaken by the Kolkata traffic police, overcrowded auto-rickshaws seemed to have gained a momentum in several pockets of the city.

The auto-drivers plying in the routes of Rashbehari-Behala, Kadapara-Mechua, New Alipore-Tollygunge, Hazra-Khidderpore and others, have been reportedly plying more passengers than the permissible limit after dusk and also on the rainy days.

"The auto-rickshaw drivers on the Hazra-Khidderpore route are always taking extra passengers at night to earn some extra penny. They are supposed to take four passengers at once, which is three in the back seat and one in the front seat. But instead the number often goes up to five or sometimes even six, which is two or three people in the front apart from the driver", said Prasun Mukherjee, a daily commuter of the route.

While another passenger, Payal Dey who travels on the Rashbehari-Behala route said, "Overloading has become a menace for daily passengers like us. We are compelled to sit uncomfortably on the front seat with one half of our body almost dangling outside the auto and with one hand clutching the metal handle, praying for our lives. When I am seated at the back, there are guards on both sides but at the back, even that is missing. It also becomes highly unsafe for children who often travel on this route as there are many schools en route."

But even the customers resort to travelling in such unsafe conditions due to infrequency of auto-rickshaws during the after-hours as well as during the rainy seasons.

Mukherjee further said, "We are helpless in this case as the frequency of auto-rickshaws slowly decreases in the area as the clock strikes 9pm. So we are compelled to travel in such unsafe conditions. If we protest or tell them that we are going to complain to the police, they threaten us to get down from the auto or resort to bad behavior. In the end, we are hardly left with any option."

According to sources, there are multiple sections in the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act which are being used to prosecute the auto-rickshaw drivers for overloading and violating the registration norms.

Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) of Kolkata police said, "If any such complaint comes to us, strict action is being taken."

Apart from ferrying more passengers than the permissible limit and the occasional irate behaviour, the auto-rickshaw drivers have also been reportedly resorting to hiking fares unnecessarily, using other routes to ply passengers as well as plying passengers through their own decided routes.