| Traffic
police crack down on overcharging autos
NEW
DELHI: The traffic police on Sunday joined the Delhi state transport
department in cracking down on autorickshaw and taxi drivers for
overcharging.
Joint
commissioner of police (traffic) Maxwell Pereira said, ‘‘We
will go the whole hog with prosecution this time. Firm instructions
have been issued to the traffic personnel saying not let the errant
auto drivers go without prosecuting them.’’
The
police will assist the transport department in the crackdown from
Sunday.
But the traffic police’s record, so far this year, has been
dismal. Till July 15, the traffic police personnel had prosecuted
only 5,559 auto drivers for overcharging and misbehaving, as against
11,635 drivers during the same period last year.
‘‘The
problem of overcharging was rampant this year. There were more
instances of overcharging this year, ever since the auto drivers
had to fit electronic fare meters. But the traffic police adopted
the go-slow process,’’ said Anil Sood of Chetna, a
voluntary outfit working against the problem of overcharging.
Instead of cracking down on erring auto drivers, the traffic police
had turned a blind eye. The prosecutions on several offences have
dipped, as only 1,332 — as against 1,661 last year —
auto drivers with defective meters had been booked till July 15.
Similarly, they had prosecuted only 5,472 auto drivers —
vis-a-vis 14,359 drivers last year — on account of refusal.
‘‘This
established the connivance between traffic policemen and auto
drivers. Reduced prosecution figures show the policemen neither
have the will nor intention to crack the whip on auto drivers,’’
Sood said.
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