While the Government has prohibited the plying of autorickshaws and taxis during the extended lockdown that began on Monday, several autorickshaws were found on the roads in Coimbatore city.
While the police said they would strictly enforce the Government order, Coimbatore District Autorickshaw Drivers Union (affiliated to CITU) planned to call on the District Collector on Tuesday to seek relaxation of norms.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R. Mutharasu told The Hindu that police personnel had been instructed to ensure that taxis and autorickshaws did not ply on the roads to ferry passengers. He said that details of violations involving autorickshaws and taxis, if reported, would be available by Tuesday morning. When stopped by police, some autorickshaw drivers said they had come out for personal work.
A senior traffic police officer said that photo challan facility would also be used to levy fines on drivers of taxis and autorickshaws in case of violation. General secretary of the union and president of the federations of auto rickshaw unions in Coimbatore P.K. Sugumaran said families of autorickshaw drivers were in dire straits as the lockdown has hit their income.
“CITU-affiliated union is planning to petition District Collector along with Coimbatore MP on Tuesday to seek relaxation of norms for autorickshaws.
On May 8, the CITU will stage a State-wide agitation to press for a financial aid of ₹15,000 for every autorickshaw driver,” he said.
