No totos allowed on roads after Jan 31, orders Malda authority

Kolkata: District administration of Malda has decided not to allow any toto to ply across the district after January 31. As per the earlier decision of the state government, Malda is the first district which is replacing totos with e-rickshaws.

A few days ago, District Magistrate (DM), Malda, Rajarshi Mitra has issued a notification where it has been mentioned that after January 31, no totos will be allowed to ply across Malda and will be seized if seen on the road. District police administration has also been informed about the matter.

Earlier during 2015, the state Transport department had announced that the totos would be replaced by e-rickshaws soon and the state government would provide Rs 20,000 for each of the toto owners who will buy e-rickshaws. The state government would also arrange loans for the rest of the amount, it was said.

In order to implement the decision, a loan fair was organised in North 24-Parganas, but the scheme failed to take off as the toto owners refused to replace their vehicles.

According to sources, the electric vehicles, which can be seen in all of the districts, are not safe at all for the passengers. Also, as the totos do not have any insurance, passengers will not get any compensation in case of any accident.

Transport department officials claimed that the totos are made in China, whereas e-rickshaws are made in India. They will have proper registration number and insurance as well, so that passengers can be compensated in case of any accident.

Apart from the legal aspects, e-rickshaws will reportedly provide better comfort to the passengers compared to totos and will be much more stable on the road.