Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra on Friday directed the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and the Mangaluru City Traffic Police (MCTP) to regularise all those unauthorised auto parks (autorickshaw stands) that do not cause inconvenience to general public.
Chairing the Dakshina Kannada Regional Transport Authority (RTA) meeting here, Dr. Rajendra was responding to demands from autorickshaw owners and drivers’ associations about auto parks in the city.
The associations said Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., (MSCL) was pulling down even authorised parks thereby severely inconveniencing drivers and owners.
The DC said such parks that do not obstruct movement of pedestrians and vehicles may be regularised. The associations said they had demanded over 320 authorised parks in the city for over 7,000 autorickshaws, but only about 250 were regularised. The remaining should be regularised, they said adding their voices were not being heard in the MSCL works.
Responding to this, Dr. Rajendra said he would invite representatives of the associations to the next meeting of the citizen action committee of MSCL. Whatever existing facilities in the city have to be accommodated within the Smart City plan and decisions would be taken accordingly, he said.
The ssociations also expressed their concern over the plying of electric autorickshaws in the city. A representative said operators were adaptable to change. They changed from petrol to LPG and were ready to go for electric autos or even the CNG.
However, an existing permit holder should be allowed to swap the permit to the new one, he asked.
Another representative pointed out that transport department officials themselves did not have clarity on issue of permits to e-autos. Officials say e-autos do not need permits while the Motor Vehicles Act mandates every public transport vehicle should have permit to transport passengers.
Dr. Rajendra directed Regional Transport Officer and RTA member-secretary R.M. Vernekar to get the issue clarified.
Superintendent of Police B.M. Laxmi Prasad, MCC Deputy Commissioner Santhosh Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Nataraj, and others were present.