The old bus stand here, which is only meant for parking of Government buses, has now turned out to be a parking zone for auto rickshaws.
Auto rickshaw drivers illegally park their vehicles here putting the common people in utter trouble. The administration, a few days back, had put restrictions on the private operators to park their vehicles in the area.
It has become a regular affair to find that the shop owners and the owners of autos rickshaws are coming down to pick up a fight. Though for the sake of parking, separate spaces are available for them, the operators are hardly following the rules and parking their vehicles in the place.
Mukesh Kumar Jain, a shop owner, said the local vendors have reported to the local police several times about the space crunch being created due to the illegal parking, but in vain. What is shocking is that these auto drivers pay the union to illegally park their vehicles in the old bus stand.
“Their union collects fees every month from each auto driver for a spot here at the old bus stand. We don’t have to worry about our vehicles because we have paid them and are guaranteed of its safety,” said an auto driver.
As many as 100 auto rickshaws are parked here on a daily basis. The monthly income goes to the leader of the union, affirmed a member of the auto drivers’ union.
However, though the illegal practice continues to irk common people, but no action has been taken so far by the police.
Rabi Nayak, who uses the route to go to office every day, said, “It is extremely risky to walk on the road where vehicles are speeding. The auto drivers should not park their vehicles on the footpath and old bus stand encroaching upon the public places.”