Unruly autos take residents for a ride

Commuters are always at the mercy of unruly drivers of autorickshaws as the city lacks an organised public transport facility.

Commuters are always at the mercy of unruly drivers of autorickshaws as the city lacks an organised public transport facility.

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Driving vehicles with tampered or numberless registration plates, overloading, misbehaving with passengers and violation of traffic rules are part of daily routine of autorickshaw drivers whereas the authority fails to stop such offenders.

Around 3,000 of the total number of 15,000 autorickshaws, plying on various routes in Gurgaon are not registered with the transport authority and are running illegally.

Many drivers of these autos are minors and do not carry driving license and other documents.

“The apathy of poor public transport system and negligence of the transport department and law enforcement agency have been creating chaos among the commuters. Though Gurgaon is connected to Delhi by Metro, commuters are forced to depend of irresponsible auto drivers due to poor connectivity with the rest of the city," said Sharad Goyal, a social activist.

These unruly drivers pose a serious threat to the safety of passengers.

Apart from driven by minors, these auto drivers carry passengers more than the permissible limit.

It seems that police have closed their eyes and allowing them to take the law at their hands, Goyal said. In April, around 15,000 drivers went on a strike against increase in taxes and challaning drive launched by the city police.