By IANS
Hyderabad : The Andhra Pradesh government Thursday decided to replace auto rickshaws in Hyderabad with taxis to ease traffic congestion.
All 110,000 three wheelers in Greater Hyderabad will be replaced by the four-wheelers in four years.
This was decided at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who also announced a scheme for loans at cheaper interest rates for auto rickshaw drivers coming forward to replace their vehicles with taxis.
Transport Minister K. Lakshminarayana told reporters that the government would arrange bank loans of Rs.400,000 each at three percent interest.
The ‘pavala vaddi’ scheme introduced for women’s self-help groups three years ago will be extended to auto rickshaw drivers. Under the scheme, the government charges only Rs.3,000 annually for a loan of Rs.100,000.
Chaos reigns on the roads in this city of six million. Traffic snarls have become common on major arteries and three-wheelers have been identified as a major cause of the problem.