Auto-rickshaw Ferrying 26 People Stopped by Cops in Karimnagar goes Viral
Auto-rickshaw Ferrying 26 People Stopped by Cops in Karimnagar in Telangana state goes Viral- while the cops make the passengers de-board from the auto, you could count the total of adults/youth as 24, plus two toddlers.
Mangaluru : If we are all worried about our Kudla “Auto-Rajas” ferrying 10 -15 children to school in their auto-rickshaws, don’t get shocked after watching the video, where a driver is stopped by the cops of Karimnagar in Telangana. A video of the passengers while de-boarding the auto-rickshaw has been released by Commissioner of Police VB Kamalasan Reddy (Karimnagar) on the micro-blogging site Twitter.
This not a good day for Abdul, who is celebrating Bakrid today. The Karimnagar police who halted an overcrowded auto-rickshaw were shocked after seeing the number of people in the vehicle. As per police report, “Around 24 people boarded the seven-seater auto to reach their destination,” The police intervened the overcrowded vehicle heading to Thimmapur and chided the auto-rickshaw driver, Abdul for putting the passengers’ lives at risk. However, the police asked the passengers to get out of the vehicle and to their shock, there were about 24 people including woman and children in it, including two other toddlers.
Even though the incident of overloading of people in auto had happened in Karimnagar, but if you look in our own district or Mangaluru, on a given day you could see auto-rickshaw drivers ferrying children or adults over the limit of 3-5. As per government order only a maximum of five children up to the age of 14 years could be accommodated in an auto-rickshaw. Though auto-rickshaws are not permitted to transport more than five children, the rule continues to remain only on paper. But overloading in autos has become a common sight yet again after the reopening of schools post summer holidays, and little do children in jam-packed autos know that their safety is at stake.
Imposition of fines against erring auto-rickshaws and conduct of safety-related awareness programmes notwithstanding, brazen violation of the safety rules by many drivers is all too visible.It was to bring in some form of regulation in transporting school students in auto-rickshaws that the State government issued an order a few years ago stating that only a maximum of five children up to the age of 14 years or not more than three adult passengers could be accommodated in a vehicle.Yet, many autos in the city continue to blatantly flout this regulation under the very nose of enforcement authorities.
Several autos have been fitted with improvised plank right in front of the passenger seat to pack in more children. It is a common sight to see minors jostling for space inside the jam-packed autos while going to their educational institutions and returning home. In many instances, students could also be seen seated precariously at the edges of the auto driver’s seat unaware of the dangers that their protruding limbs are exposed to. Several auto-rickshaws in the city could be seen transporting even 10 children. Their school bags and lunch bags are hung to the hooks fitted at the sides, causing disturbance to other vehicle users. Non compliance of rules by errant drivers endangers the lives of the innocent children travelling in overloaded autos.
Though Transport Department officials say that checks were being conducted and fines imposed on erring autos, the problem persists.The onus is equally on the parents who should ensure that their wards were not sent in autos carrying beyond the permitted capacity, say officials. The police and Transport Department authorities should treat overloading as a very serious issue as it concerns the safety of children and act firmly against the violators, and during Police Commissioner’s phone-in programme there have been complaints in this regard. There should be absolute consistency when it comes to implementing the rule, but its not happening here.
Awareness must be created among school authorities and through them to the parents to drive home the message that children should not be sent in autos which transports more than five minors. Concerned authorities should effectively implement the rule to ensure the safety of minors. The enforcement authorities must position themselves at the institutions’ entrance and charge the errant drivers found transporting students beyond the permitted capacity. The role of the police here is crucial as they have more strength than the Transport Department authorities.
Pictures for Illustration Only
