Faced with a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Kerala, the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has begun imposing fine on autorickshaws and taxi cars that operate without the mandatory polycarbonate screens between the driver and passenger area.

The move is on the basis of an order issued by the Transport Commissioner in July, making transparent screen partition mandatory in three and four-wheeler public transport vehicles that operate in Kerala. “Violators of the safety norm can be charged ₹250 as fine, while fitness certificate is not issued to such vehicles which appear for the annual fitness test. The fine amount has been fixed as per provisions of Disaster Management Act, since it does not find mention in the Motor Vehicles Act,” said MVD sources.

The screen was first introduced in Kochi in May, jointly by the MVD and the district administration, and made mandatory for taxi cars that ferried people from the airport. This was done as per World Health Organization (WHO) norms, for which a pair of doctors attached to the National Health Mission readied a design. “With it being made mandatory for all taxi cars and autorickshaws, the cost has come down from ₹2,500 to approximately ₹1,200 in most parts of Kerala. States like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka too have opted for the concept now,” said G. Anantakrishnan, Malappuram RTO, who as the then RTO-Enforcement of Ernakulam played a key role in popularising the concept.

On whether air-conditioning could be switched on in taxi cars during inclement weather, Mr. Anantakrishnan said the WHO had suggested operating the AC at 24-27 degree Celsius, if absolutely necessary.

A number of autorickshaws in Ernakulam district too had installed screen partition, said Reji P. Varghese, Deputy Transport Commissioner (Central Zone-2), Ernakulam. The screens are available at around ₹350 per piece.

Sanitised buses

Mr. Varghese said the MVD had begun handing over pumps and cleaning liquid to bus stands to clean private buses. “The funds for this and ₹300-wage for a worker per day to do fogging in all buses have been made available by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The effect lasts up to 12 hours,” he said.

Four-tier sanitising

Mr. Varghese on Monday inaugurated an initiative by city-based MGS Travels to disinfect cars using a four-tier method after each trip. The firm was the first to introduce the concept of safety screens in Kerala, when public transport resumed after the national lockdown, to ferry passengers from airports and railway stations.

In the mode of disinfection, there was an exterior power soap-washing, followed by interior power cleaning, sanitiser fumigation and lastly UV sanitisation, said M.S. Anil Kumar, owner of the travel firm and vice chairman of Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India. A mobile application named ‘Tripme’ too was introduced to prevent the possibility of COVID-19 spread through cash payments, he said.