Little kids are seen perilously perched on autorickshaws on the busy NH-16 near PM Palem as buses and trucks zoom past them.
Drivers cram around 10 children in a single autorickshaw, flagrantly flouting traffic rules that allow only five children to be seated in an autorickshaw.
While parents have no qualms sending their children to school in such unsafe conditions, what is puzzling is the lack of action by traffic police against such dangerous practices even as such overcrowded autorickshaws become an all too common sight on city roads.
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The situation is worse in rural areas, where 12 to 15 children are ferried to school in a single autorickshaw.
Areas like Pineapple Colony, Arilova, Hanumanthuwaka BRTS Road, MVP Colony, Gopalapatnam, Malkapuram, One Town, Maddilapalem, Gajuwaka, and Duvvada are full of such autorickshaws.
In rural areas like Anakapalle, Kasimkota, S. Rayavaram, Yelamanchali and Paderu, auto-rickshaws are often seen plying on NH-16 with vehicles speeding past.
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College students too have no hesitation in boarding overcrowded autorickshaws. The stretch between PM Palem and Anandapuram houses a number of engineering colleges.
On a daily basis, many autorickshaws from Maddilapalem ferry engineering college students from Maddilapalem junction to Anandapuram in overcrowded conditions, and at high speeds.
There are approximately over 58,000 auto-rickshaws in Visakhapatnam district in which over 27,000 ply in the city. Even though RTC buses ply in all areas, most of the students have made auto-rickshaws their desired mode of public transport.
Asked why he prefers to travel in such unsafe conditions, M. Praveen, a student of Chaitanya Engineering College from Kommadi, says, “I find it better to travel in an overcrowded auto-rickshaw with my friends rather than hanging off a foot-board on a bus. As most of the buses come via Steel Plant and Gajuwaka, there is no chance of getting a seat.”
Police version
“Most of the times, we let off autorickshaw drivers with a warning just so that the students can reach their schools or colleges on time. They might be running late for an exam. We note down the registration number of the vehicle and collect a fine later,” said a traffic police officer from PM Palem Police Station limits.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP-Traffic) M.R.K. Raju said that fines are being slapped and cases booked against overloaded auto-rickshaws in many parts of the city. “We are focussing on all overcrowded vehicles, and not just on school autorickshaws. As the schools have just reopened, we are yet to kickstart a campaign to crack down on the drivers,” he said.
Mr. Raju added that the traffic police have been using CCTV cameras placed at many junctions to generate e-challans and send them to violators.