Though the authorities are again talking about opening a prepaid autorickshaw counter at the Hubballi Railway Station, efforts to set up a similar facility at the Dharwad Railway Station had proved to be futile.
A prepaid autorickshaw counter was opened here in October 2011. The then City Police Commissioner K. Ramachandra Rao had promised to open similar counters at the new bus stand, Hubballi Railway Station and the Hubballi old bus stand. He had also said that the notification issued by the government on fares had been displayed at the counter and policemen would be deployed to monitor its functioning.
However, these promises were never kept. Instead, the lone prepaid autorickshaw counter itself was closed and the alleged overcharging of passengers by autorickshaw drivers continued. Social activist Ravi Desai said the authorities were yet to set up either a prepaid autorickshaw counter facility or enforce a meter system. “It is a challenge as there is no consensus between the government and the autorickshaw operators over fares,” he added.
