Following its crackdown on autorickshaws crammed with school children, the Chennai Traffic Police has initiated checks on all autorickshaws in the city.
Over 65,000 autorickshaws operate in the city on any given day. “We will collect details such as names of owner and driver, vehicle number, and auto stand from where it operates. We will then compare the same with information provided by the Transport Department,” a senior traffic police officer said.
The police have been asked to compile the database by August 6. “This will help us find if there are autorickshaws being operated without proper documents. Some vehicles may be stolen and drivers may be using fake papers,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the traffic police are set to continue their crackdown on autorickshaws crammed with school children. On Thursday and Friday, the police checked nearly 150 autorickshaws, including share autorickshaws, and collected a fine of Rs. 4 lakh for violation of norms.
“We are also checking school buses. We do not want such an accident to happen again,” said the officer. Officials and inspectors from the 15 regional transport commissioner offices in the city inspected 1,100 school and college buses.
The city has a total of 3,990 vehicles operated by educational institutions. The crackdown is in the wake of the death of Sruthi, a class II student, who died in a road accident at Mudichur on Wednesday.
