KOCHI: Shops selling autorickshaw equipments in the city are witnessing heavy rush following the state government's decision to increase minimum fares for autorickshaws. Auto drivers are also queuing up at the legal metrology department to configure the meters.

Harish V, an auto driver in the city, waited for more than three hours in front of an auto instrument shop at Kakkanad in the morning hours on Wednesday to change the configuration of the meter. "Since the legal metrology has granted me the verification stamp for my auto rickshaw in March the previous year, I have time till March to get the revised meters. There is huge rush in front of shops which might make it difficult for me to get the configured metres anytime soon," said Harish.Meanwhile, shops in the city which sell autorickshaw appliances are also experiencing a boom in business.

With only around five such licensed shops in the city, the demand is very high. "We experience an increase in our sales during every fare revision. There are only around five licensed shops in the city including Kakkanad, Kaloor, and Kadavanthra. We are expecting more sales in the future," said Renjith John, Noble Auto Instruments, Elamakkara. Thousands of autos are plying in the city and autorickshaw drivers and owners are making a beeline to the shops. "Keeping in mind the heavy rush which is expected in the coming days, I have revised the meter rates," said Majumdar, another auto driver.

Meanwhile, the legal metrology department is all geared up to finish the fare revision in autorickshaws at the earliest. "In order to speed up the rate revision procedures of the autorickshaws and taxis, we are planning to launch camps in several parts of the city," said R Rammohan, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology.

It was on December that the state government decided to revise the minimum fare of autorickshaws to Rs 25. "As per the rules of the legal metrology, the verification process of the vehicles are divided into four quarters with three months each (A, B, C, and D). Since we are short of manpower, we are prioritising the autorickshaws as of now. Over 100 autorickshaws are given approval daily," said Manoj Kumar, Assistant Controller, Central Laboratory.