Hyderabad: Emboldened by the lack of action on the part of the concerned authorities such as the legal metrology, traffic and transport departments, auto-rickshaw drivers in the city are illegally demanding higher fares from passengers than shown on the meter, or refuse to use the meter.
In order to stop the tampering of meters, the government had introduced digital meters in 2007 and held special drives and acted on complaints from passengers to ensure there was no cheating. But in the last one year, these enforcement drives have petered out and traffic police now only take note of traffic violations.
It is the legal metrology department that should be monitoring the meters and ensuring they register the correct fare, but it lacks a full-fledged head and so there is no activity on this front.
Mr Man Mohan, a resident of Nallagutta in Secunderabad, says auto-rickshaw drivers in Secunderabad are demanding exorbitant fares even for a ride of just two kilometres. “My cousin who came from Mumbai laughed at me and criticised the behaviour of auto rickshaw drivers here. The government should take necessary steps to implement meters in auto-rickshaws,” he said.
The traffic and transport departments too are responsible to see that auto-rickshaws ply by the rules.
“As per the Motor Vehicle Act, auto rickshaw drivers must operate meters and they should not deny taking passengers to their destinations. If a passenger lodges a complaint with us, we take action against the concerned auto-rickshaw driver,” claims K Venkata Ramana, regional transport officer of north zone.
Auto-rickshaw drivers have a ready and familiar excuse for breaking the rules. One of them, Shaik Hymad, says he pays Rs 500 in rent per day to the owner of the auto-rickshaw. “The government revised auto fares one and a half years back when the price of diesel was Rs 54 per litre. In the last 18 months, the price of fuel has increased by Rs 10 to Rs 13, but there is no revision of auto fares. We are from poor families. We need an income of at least Rs 15,000 per month.” he said.
