Auto-drivers to snoop on public

Autorickshaw drivers in the city are set to undergo training to acquire a ‘golden ear’, which will enable them to filter the information they hear from their passengers and pass it on to security agencies.

Autorickshaw drivers in the city are set to undergo training to acquire a ‘golden ear’, which will enable them to filter the information they hear from their passengers and pass it on to security agencies.

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Following the Delhi serial blasts last September, when one bomb planted in an autorickshaw in Karol Bagh’s Beadonpura area killed 20 people, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has come up with this idea.

Sources said the civic agency has spoken to former army and police officers about training the drivers.

“The civic agency wants to act as a facilitator between the security agencies and the drivers who can become an important tool in collecting sensitive and security-related information. The training will enable them identify the information,” said a senior MCD official requesting anonymity.

The agency will organise the training as part of their project to install electronic chips in autorickshaws to keep track of advertisements and ensure proper revenue collection.

According to the MCD, the biocryptic chip that will be installed in every vehicle will contain the name of the autorickshaw owner, details of its permit and its validity.

“The MCD inspectors will be able to keep a check on all illegal autorickshaws plying in the city through a reading device or BlackBerry provided to them,” said the official. All who want to advertise on their rickshaws would have to register with the MCD.

“The proposal is under consideration and will be tabled in the standing committee meeting of the MCD soon,” said commissioner KS Mehra.