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Auto drivers continue to fleece passengers

Subodh Bhasin. Dated: 11/13/2018 10:33:46 AM

2,500 autos, only 400 have meters

Subodh Bhasin
Jammu, Nov 12
In the last couple of days there is constant decline in the prices of petroleum products but auto-rickshaw operators in the city continue to fleece passengers, particularly tourists and pilgrims, by charging exorbitantly from them.
The auto rickshaw transport in Jammu is looting people, especially tourists and pilgrims coming from outside state while ferrying them to different parts of the city.
The op[en loot goes unchecked as majority of autorickshaws in Jammu city continue to run without mandatory meters despite a month-long drive by the traffic police asking auto unions to make the meters operational in their vehicles.
Talking to Young Bites correspondent Rohit Aggarwal said that during wee hours and night these auto rickshaw drivers charge 200 to 300 times more than the actual fare and people having no knowledge about the city get trapped in their net. Up to three kilometers they charge around Rs 250 to 300 which is very high from the actual fare.
Not the meters are non functional but there is no rate list pasted on the auto rickshaws in Jammu and they run their vehicles on their own whims and get away with it. Tourists and pilgrims coming from outside Jammu and Kashmir having no other option get trapped and pay higher rates.
It is worthwhile to mention here that there are 2,500 autos plying in the city and astonishingly, only 400 have installed and recalibrated e-meters so far. Although with the opening of winter Secretariat in Jammu, traffic police have taken initiative to cope up with the issues yet, traffic police personnel deployed in the city are ignoring the violation despite repeated warnings issued by senior officers.
There were repeated directions by the traffic police department to transporters for complying with the orders and install meters in their vehicles but due to the blind approach adopted by the men in blue, nobody is taking traffic police seriously these days and the violation of repeated directives goes unchecked.
It is pertinent to mention here that on October 14, the traffic police had issued a stern warning to the auto unions for charging the fare as per the meter reading, with directions that non-compliance could lead to imposition of heavy fines as per the Motor Vehicles Act. But even after that directives most of auth rickshaw drivers don’t follow the fare chart concerned by the transport department from time to time.
Another passenger Rajeev Sharma said that when I tried to hire an auto rickshaw at Jammu Tawi railway station and enquired the fare up to Raghunath bazar, the auto driver jumped to Rs 350. I hired auto outside the railway station area where I paid only Rs 150.
They have simply made these meters non-functional. This has led to loot in the city of temples where every day thousands of pilgrims and tourists reach from other parts of the country.