400 autorickshaws seized for violating conditions

400 autorickshaws seized for violating conditions

The Hindu



HERE WE COME: Autorickshaw drivers boarding a vehicle to reach the office of a Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: A drive by the city traffic police to rein in autorickshaw drivers refusing to go on hire has landed over 400 drivers in trouble. Their vehicles, their only source of income, have been seized as part of the initiative, which started on January 31.

While the police maintain that refusal to take passengers to specific locations amounts to a violation of the conditions laid down for their permits, the drivers say they cannot pay the penalty of Rs. 2,200. Over 400 autorickshaws have been reportedly confiscated and kept at police stations across the city.

Four major autorickshaw drivers unions have come together to protest against the police action, which they allege is harassment. "We are planning to launch an agitation in the next two or three days if the police continue to harass us," H.G. Srinivasamurthy, working president of the CITU-affiliated Autorickshaw Drivers Union told The Hindu.