By Shafee Ahmed Ko, TwoCircles.net,
Chennai: The First Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the state government to spell out the measures it planned to take for regulating the fares of autorikshaws. Chief Justice M Yousuf Eqbal and Justice Sivagnanam asked the Government Pleader to get instructions and reply in three weeks, while considering a Public Interest Litigation seeking to fix minimum fares for autorikshaws.
The PIL was filed by Chennai-based lawyer Immanuel Prakasam seeking relief from the unfair demand of fare, while the electronic meters fixed are either defunct or tampered to show exceedingly high fares. The petition prays that the electronic meters show the fair and fixed rates and the meters be sealed in such a way that it cannot be tampered with by unauthorized persons.
The autorikshaws in the city charge exorbitant prices, barring a few. The fares are hiked still if the traveler is a new-comer or one who cannot speak in Tamil and does not know the correct way to reach his destination. The petitioner reportedly argues that word-fights do take place very often between the drivers and passengers on the matter of fare and the same if brought to the notice of the police go heedless. However, it is said that a majority of the arrogant drivers run autorikshaws owned by police personnel with permits taken in third-party nominations.
Among the two main railway stations in Chennai, only the Central Railway Station has a functional prepaid autorikshaw booth where a passenger gets a computer-printed paper coupon with the destination and its fare marked. The police at the station note both the number of the coupon as well as that of the auto which makes it sort of safe and easy for the passengers. However, still, the large crowds of passengers may find it difficult to locate the booth and many autorikshaws run at the place without considering the booth. The prepaid auto booth in the Egmore Railway Station is non-functional.
The authorities may implicate auto owners to keep post cards giving details of the owner’s name and address as well as the driving license details easily accessible in the autorikshaws. The contact details of NGOs including their helpline numbers may also be either visibly written in the autorikshaw or pamphlets giving details of the NGOs may be distributed in vantage points in the city. This would be a great help especially to new-comers in the city.