Karnataka - Udupi   

RTO to form squads to check autos

By Our Staff Correspondent

UDUPI, OCT. 5. The Regional Transport Officer (RTO), M.P. Onkareshwari, said here on Tuesday that a squad would be formed with the cooperation of the police, to tackle the problem of autorickshaws running without fair meters.

Ms. Onkareshwari was speaking at the District Transport Adalat organised by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA).

The RTO said there were 6,744 autorickshaws in the district. The RTO could not check if all the vehicles were fitted with the meters. The cooperation of the people was crucial to check this problem. In the first phase, the RTA had seen to it that most of the autorickshaws had calibrated meters. The second phase would concentrate on the use of meters, she said.

People participating in the adalat said that the fair meters in many autorickshaws were disabled. The autorickshaw drivers said cited cable fault for this. Besides, if any passengers lodged a complaint with the police about it, the drivers of the area boycotted the complainant causing hardship to him or her.

The RTO said the department conducted random checks and took action whenever necessary. It was difficult for the RTA to act without specific complaints, she said.

Ambalapady Gopal said autorickshaw drivers followed a "contract system" at the Railway Station. Autorickshaw drivers refused to go to nearby places. The RTO said that a police constable had been placed at the Railway Station to check this problem.

Another resident said although the distance from the bus stand to Kuthpady was 7.5 km, Rs. five was charged. According to the fares notified by the RTA, Rs. 4.50 should be charged between six and eight km, he said.

The RTO said there were 88 bus routes in the city and the fares for all the routes had been prepared. Nearly 99 per cent of the buses displayed them. The rates were fixed by the RTA along with the convener of the Udupi Consumers Forum, K. Damodar Aithal, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, David A. Karkada. In the case of Kuthpady, she would conduct a spot inspection.

Jaganath Shetty said that only a few buses went to Kolalgiri making it difficult for students to travel. He said the residents were ready to run their own buses if the RTO issued permits.

Mr. Gopal said that city buses in Udupi took 15 minutes reach Taluk Office from the City Bus Stand. Another resident said that Nittoor did not have any bus bay despite an assurance from the RTA. An RTA official said the Authority had tried to get the matter moving but the National Highways Department had objected to it. The RTO said that a notification would be issued to regularise the autorickshaw stand at Kodavoor as demanded by the Yuvaka Sangha.

Surendrappa, Assistant RTO, was present.

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