City traffic police have categorically denied allowing any auto rickshaw without defined route permit to operate during 9 PM-9 AM. Traffic SP Sanjay Ranjan Singh said today that he also came across rumours being aired by some auto drivers with no defined route permit that they were allowed to operate in the dark.
“Some auto drivers met me on Tuesday to discuss their problems. It is true that requesting the department to find some ways to allow them to operate was one of the agendas they had approached with. However, they are not being allowed to do so at all in any case as of now. Something which is illegal will remain illegal, until it is legalised, and operating an auto rickshaw without route permit is one of those illegal activities at present” said Singh.
Notably, roumours were creeping in from some auto rickshaw owners and drivers since Tuesday evening itself after they met with Singh that they were allowed to operate within the city’s periphery during dark. However, Traffic SP sensed some kind of frustration within those auto rickshaw owners, saying that the never before strictness from traffic men since some time forced them to find new ways to operate.
“They (the autowalahs) know that the traffic men remain off the road during 9 PM-9 AM. Hence, operation during those hours happens to be less questionable. Until and unless they fall into some kind of accident or something like that, police patrolling personnel don’t question them the way they are questioned and penalized during day hours. This might be a reason that they came up with such rumour,” said Singh.According to traffic establishment of the city, Ranchi is a home of around12,000 auto rickshaws. Out of them, only 2,335 auto rickshaws are allowed to operate in the city with defined route permits. It leaves more than 9,000 auto rickshaws with no other alternative having legal registration either to operate out of the periphery of the city or to operate within the city at their own risk.
As per experts the city roads bear the load of at least 6,000 auto rickshaws against 2,335 auto rickshaws with allowed route permit. “I will not get into demand supply mathematics side of it. I can only say that we have appeared extremely harsh on those who took our interruptions, fines and other warnings to follow the rule as routine drive, which would stand only for a couple of days like earlier. However, we have made it actually routine drive until the last auto with no defined route permit is being thrown out of the road. This has turned indigestible to those auto rickshaw drivers,” said Singh.