JOIN USAuto wallahs don’t seem to think twice before fleecing passengers, be it day or night.
The IPL matches have come as a blessing in disguise for these auto drivers. When people struggle to get home after a match, auto drivers charge cricket fans nothing less than Rs 250 or Rs 300 for a ride back home. And those who are lucky to get the drivers to turn on their meters can’t be sure whether they will take the shortest route to their destination.
Soon after last Sunday’s IPL match, at around 11 pm, an auto ‘stand’ suddenly sprang up on the road opposite the LIC building near Anil Kumble Circle. A fleet of 10 or 12 autorickshaws lined the dark stretches along BRV Grounds. A traffic police patrol jeep that was parked in line with the autos did little to assist people in getting an auto and to make sure the drivers didn’t charge exorbitant prices.
Metrolife spoke to a few hapless commuters as well as the police to find out if anything is being done to ensure the safety of people taking autos after an IPL match.
Additional commissioner of police (traffic and safety) M A Saleem, points out that the only legal auto stand in and around M G Road is the prepaid counter.
“No autos are allowed to park anywhere else in the vicinity. Why can’t people take the buses provided for the IPL matches instead of taking autos? But if there are some who are keen on taking autos, we have to think of creating a temporary auto stand during the IPL matches,” he reasons.
Inspector Khan, with the Wilson Garden police station limits — who was sitting in a traffic jeep parked just beside the auto stand near BRV Grounds – says, “We are waiting for people to move out of the stadium. We are trying our best to remove the stand. It is illegal,” he asserts.
However, the ordinary people had horrid tales to tell about their auto rides after an IPL match. Murali N, who came to watch the match with his daughter, got into an auto near the stadium and agreed to pay Rs 300 to be driven to K R Puram. “We got into the auto and realised that the auto guy was taking us on a different route. He said he would take us through Yeshwantpur which is not connected to where we wanted to go. I was afraid because my daughter was with me. We quickly got down and I called up my brother to come and pick us up,” recalls Murali.
Sudeep, a doctor, says he had a tough time getting home after the matches. “Auto drivers never come where we want to go. And when they do, we end up paying double or even more. The buses don’t move until they are full, so we have no option but to take an auto.” Hemanth, a taxi driver, wonders why people can’t opt for cabs. “I was waiting by the auto stand to pick up a passenger and I saw how people, who were trying to take an auto, were being harassed by the auto drivers. If they can pay Rs 300 to get back, then why not take a cab?” he wonders.