OPEN HOUSE: What measures should Chandigarh Administration, police take to curb crimes involving auto drivers?

IT is shameful that despite such horrendous crimes committed by auto drivers, the Administration has still not started challaning and impounding unauthorised autos. There is a need for launching an extensive drive to remove unauthorised autos from the city roads.

Sapna Sharda, Chandigarh

Admn should shun lackadaisical attitude

Hardly a day passes when one doesn’t come across a report on crimes committed by auto drivers in the city. This has been happening time and again despite various directions issued by the Administration with regard to the compliance of provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act. But these directions are openly flouted by auto drivers and owners in the absence of strict enforcement and due to a lackadaisical attitude on the part of the Administration. The hounding of passengers at railway station, bus stand and customers at busy markets is a common sight. It is important that the Administration takes immediate steps in the form of strict action against violators. The punitive action must also include auto owners who engage drivers without proper verification.

Dr Dinesh Kumar Verma, Panchkula

Allow a few autos in particular area

All autos must be registered with some government agency. Only a few autos should be allowed to ply in a particular area. Like Ola and Uber, their route must be visible to all. Police patrolling must be stepped up and criminals punished, so that the others get a lesson.

Anju Behl, Chandigarh

Ensure that all auto drivers are registered

The Administration should ensure that all auto drivers are registered and they be issued smart cards with their names, photos, mobile number and other details. It will help in early and easy identification of drivers. Issue hefty challans to defaulters. The help of traffic marshals and NGOs may be taken to ensure a smooth, safe and crime-free commute in the city.

Col TBS Bedi (retd), Mohali

Cops need to make more efforts

There is hardly any community outreach efforts or police patrolling, not even during daytime, let alone at night. I only see police presence facilitating VIP traffic movement in the morning and evening hours. Police officers’ performance should be judged on how much time they spend on the ground facilitating initiatives for public safety. Such initiatives, programmes and community outreach efforts should be launched and their performance tracked by taking feedback from the community.

Chetan, Chandigarh

Owners should keep record of drivers

The police must act sternly and quickly, otherwise it will bring a bad name to the whole community of auto drivers. Only a few of them are involved in these criminal activities, but now, all are looked at with suspicion. The auto owners should keep a proper record of the persons whom they give their vehicles on rent. Any reliable identity card such as Aadhaar and voter card must be retained so that in case of any crime, the identity of the culprit can be established easily. These identity cards may be deposited with the nearby police stations. Moreover, all CCTV cameras should be in a working condition.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi (Sangrur)

Step up surveillance, checking of autos

It is really sad that the security and safety of women in the city is becoming an issue of concern. The city has a large number of woman students and employees who require to commute during the late hours also. The Administration should step up checking drives and patrolling. Only the licensed auto drivers be allowed to operate. More CCTV cameras be installed and more policemen deployed at vulnerable points.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Keep track record of auto drivers

Registration of autos should be made mandatory and unauthorised vehicles should be impounded. The verification of auto drivers’ antecedents should be done properly. Identity cards having details of auto drivers should be displayed in autos. All autos should be connected to a centralised system to keep a vigil on their activities. Women should be encouraged to become auto drivers. Track records of auto drivers should be kept on a monthly basis.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

Establish a special police cell

The police and the Administration should ensure that no unregistered autos ply in the city. For this, frequent checking drives be held. The registered autos should have a clearly visible logo/sign. The names of drivers, if possible photos also, should be displayed on autos. It should be ensured that owners engage only authorised drivers to ply their autos. Autos must have the number of a police station. A special police cell should be formed which has a database of all autos so that any auto driver committing crime can be traced quickly.

Bubby Soin, Chandigarh

Formulate policy to regulate autos

Unauthorised auto-rickshaw stands are proliferating in the city like never before, which hamper the movement of vehicles and also lead to crime. The traffic police should start a special drive against illegal autos plying in the city. All auto drivers should be profiled after checking their driving licences and record. I strongly feel that the incidents of rape involving auto drivers happen because the authorities concerned fail to take stringent action against culprits. We need a policy to regulate autos in the city. The Administration should prepare a database on auto drivers.

Vineet Gandhi, Mani Majra

Auto owners must own responsibility

The safety of passengers, particularly women, is the responsibility of not only auto drivers but also their owners. In case of any criminal activity by drivers while ferrying passengers, the owners have to own the responsibility for having jeopardised the safety of passengers. The traffic police must ensure that all auto drivers carry papers and their ID cards. The railway police must not allow auto drivers without ID cards to approach women unless they are called for a ride by passengers themselves.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Take stringent action against violators

The owner of a vehicle would have to submit two photocopies of the vehicle’s bluebook, driver’s licence, identity cards of both the driver and himself to the respective police station. Unverified drivers should not be allowed to operate autos. Apparently, it is mandatory for all drivers to carry badges. There could be a coding system for autos. The drivers should keep the inner lights on while driving in dark areas. In case if a driver violates these rules, stringent action should be taken against him.

Anita K Tandon, Kharar

Drivers’ antecedents must be verified

The pre-paid system for hiring an auto be launched and registration slips with serial numbers pasted on autos. Antecedents of each auto driver must be verified. Passengers should be careful enough to check whether the auto is registered or not. An awareness drive for auto drivers should be launched. Increased vigilance is the need of the hour to make the UT crime-free.

M R Bhateja, Naya Gaon

Women’s safety a major concern

Every auto owner and drivers they hire to operate their vehicles should be listed with the police along with the details of the vehicle. An owner can employ or rent his auto only to persons listed with the police. The police should identify vulnerable spots and deploy cops there. Ensure all roads are fully lit up. Prepaid booth service and app-based ride can help check such crimes. There is a need to instil the fear of law among criminals.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Issue registration stickers to autos

The Administration should issue registration stickers to auto owners to be pasted on their vehicles. Passengers be asked to check the registration papers of autos and click photos of the same before boarding the vehicles. Vehicles should be fitted with cameras and GPRS so that these can be tracked immediately. People would not mind paying more for enhanced safety. Those who rent out their vehicles should also be prosecuted if their vehicle is involved in a crime.

Savita Kuthiala, Chandigarh

Need to Stop further registration of autos

Owners rent out their autos and the Transport Department has no record of drivers. The plying of autos of Mohali and Panchkula in UT and vice versa, coupled with a lack of coordination among the authorities, adds to mismanagement. After the recent incident of rape of a woman by an auto driver, the Chandigarh police carried out a verification drive of autos and the State Transport Authority impounded around 12 autos in the city. Officials admit that around 700 autos without registration are plying in the tricity. The STA must stop further registration of autos as around 5,000 autos are already registered in the city.

Autos of Punjab and Haryana need to be countersigned from UT to ply in Chandigarh.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

Tricity police should work as one unit

The tricity police should have a combined list of auto drivers on their websites. It should be ensured that all autos are fitted with a GPRS unit connected to the police control room. It will instil a feeling of being watched and travellers will also be able to see the route they are taking. All autos should have a panic button. The tricity police should work as one unit.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh

Strict vigilance is the need of the hour

Improvement in public transport is important as cases of rape, robbery and snatching are on the rise in the city. Registration of autos and verification of drivers should be mandatory to ply autos in the tricity. A passenger boarding an auto or a taxi should check their admit cards and inform family members about the registration number and the driver’s name.

Charu Malhotra, Mohali

Carry out random checks of autos

The Administration should come up with stringent penal provisions to deter auto drivers from committing such crimes. The police should carry out random checks of autos. All auto drivers should display their mobile numbers and address along with their photograph prominently in the auto. Further, it is high time the fare metre system be introduced to check overcharging by auto drivers. As most of the auto drivers in the tricity are migrants, the police need to verify their antecedents before registering vehicles for public use. After all it is the question of the safety of life and property of passengers.

Dr Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh

Hold auto owners accountable

Several crimes involving auto drivers have been reported in the past. The Administration should take necessary steps to hold auto owners accountable. The authorities should made registration compulsory for each auto. A GPS unit should be fitted on each auto. Auto drivers should display their identify proof on their vehicle. The use of drone technology will be helpful to curb such crimes.

Adish Sood, Amloh

Roads should be adequately lit up

People involved in such crimes are mostly outsiders and their vehicles are also not registered. When a crime happens, the Administration gets into action. But after sometime, no verification drive is carried out. The administration should make it mandatory for all outsiders to register and update the authorities about the work they are doing in the city. GPS should be mandatory for all vehicles. All roads should be adequately lit up.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Admn needs to tighten noose on auto drivers

The recent crimes, including rapes, murders and molestations, involving, among others, auto drivers have left city residents in a state of shock. All the more shocking is the fact that no arrest has been made in the gruesome murders, pointing an accusing finger on the police force. A quick look around a series of heinous crimes even during the testing Corona times reveals that the perpetrators are committing crimes without the scantest fear of the law. This calls for immediate revamp of the police force. The dispensation needs to tighten noose on auto drivers and their sleepy owners. The confiscation of licences of the erring auto drivers and impounding the unregistered autos plying on city roads with impunity would go a long way in checking the menace. The dispensation should make it mandatory for the auto owners to keep record of their employees, subject to periodic police verification. The Administration and the police need to work in tandem to ensure safety and security for women. Equally important is to step up police patrolling around the crime-prone areas. To top it all, auto owners must be held solely accountable for any crime committed by their employees.

Ramesh K Dhiman, Chandigarh

Police stations must become more active

In most crimes reported in the city, auto drivers were involved. Police stations must become more active to prevent such crimes. Migrant auto drivers must register at police stations. Their route history must be reported at police stations or at auto unions on a weekly basis. If plying at night, unions must register such autos with railway station and bus stand. There should be a dress code for drivers and a batch or an ID card must be displayed on the vehicle. Like cabs, autos must have GPS units. Pre-paid auto service is a must at railway station and bus stand. If we take some stringent steps against auto drivers, we can make our roads safer for women than before.

Vijay Malia, Chandigarh

Auto unions should educate, verify drivers

All drivers must wear uniform and photo identity cards issued by the police. Their antecedents be verified on a regular basis. The name, mobile number, address of owners be painted on both sides of an auto the same as taxis. The name and the contact number of the driver is to be visibly written inside the auto. No unauthorised auto should be allowed to ply in the tricity and for the ease of checking, a sticker with a hologram must be pasted on the windscreen of an auto. Any violation must be strictly dealt with, including the impounding of auto. Auto unions must educate and verify drivers.

Col KJ Singh (retd), Chandigarh

All auto-drivers need to be profiled

The following measures will go a long way in tackling such crimes. All auto-drivers need to be profiled after checking their driving licenses. The mobile number of auto drivers should be clearly displayed on the front and the back of the vehicle. Uniform with driver’s identity card issued by the Administration is a must. Black tarpaulin used by auto drivers should be banned. All illegal autos plying on the city roads should be banned. GPS needs to be installed on autos. The security at the railway stations as well as the ISBT needs to be beefed up.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

QUESTION

The UT Estate Office is under fire over delayed services such as issuance of no-dues certificate for the sale of property, NOC for leasehold properties, transfer certificate for freehold properties, completion/occupation certificate and sanction of building plans. What steps should the Estate Office take to improve its services?

Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com