AHMEDABAD: After city traffic police and
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) tightened enforcement of traffic rules and imposed stiff penalties on people, including autorickshaw drivers, for illegal parking, rickshaw drivers across Ahmedabad, announced a one-day strike on Monday. Some two lakh auto rickshaws went off the road, as part of the strike, demanding designated autorickshaw stands to park their vehicles.
“City traffic police have been targeting auto rickshaws parked by the roadside. Roadside stands that can accommodate just 2,100 rickshaws in the city, against a total number of 2 lakh autorickshaws. If drivers don’t have a space to park, they cannot keep running an empty rickshaws at their own cost. The government must come up with a solution as several families are dependent on employment provided through these rickshaws,” said Ashok Punjabi of the Ahmedabad Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association.
City traffic police officials, however, appeared firm on their decision for zero tolerance to illegal parking. Akshayraj, DCP (traffic), said, “If an autorickshaw is found to be illegally parked, stern action will be taken.”
About the number of commercial vehicles plying in the city and designated parking spaces, experts say a cap needs to be put on the number of autorickshaws, rationalizing it based on the requirement. A senior traffic police official also said, on condition of anonymity, that several representations have been made before the civic body as well as the regional transport office (RTO), regarding the issue.
When rickshaws went off the road, demand for radio cabs surged and fares consequently shot up significantly, leaving commuters in a fix. “Cab prices were nearly double on Monday. I usually take a shared cab to work every day and it cost me double the usual fare for the same distance. I’m dependent on radio cabs for my commute and am really left with no choice,” said Prathaa Shukla, a city-based professional.
