Upgradation of auto meters a tough task

Thiruvananthapuram: Upgradation of auto-fare meters with revised fares will not be an easy task for the Legal Metrology Department, which is struggling with inadequate staff strength.  

On Wednesdays, the city autos were seen lined up in front of licensed agencies for recalibrating revised fares. The state government has decided to hike the minimum auto-fares from Rs 20 to Rs 25 for 1.5 km. It is learnt that there are around 18,000 auto-rickshaws in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limit.

A top official of the Legal Metrology Department said that they are hoping to finish at least half of the sealing of fare-meters by March end.  "We have only four permanent officers and two temporary staffs to carry out the job. It's going to be a herculean task. The auto drivers are approaching us to get permission to break the seal of the existing fare-meters. We have divided the financial year into four quarters to seal the auto-fare meters. There will be a long waiting period to get the meters sealed by the department," said the official.

The official said that there is a chance of malpractices by the auto-drivers.

 "Once the seal is broken there is a scope of fleecing commuters. So there should be strict checking by the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD). We will also constitute squads to keep track of such malpractices," said the official.

Meanwhile, the licensed agencies got the software for recalibrating new fares very recently.

 "Only some of the fare meter manufacturing companies have released the software for upgradation," said Suresh Kumar, a worker at an agency in the city.