Auto drivers feel let down by AAP, but still back it

NEW DELHI: Lali Prasad, the autorickshaw driver who slapped Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, was among the few auto drivers in the city who are disgruntled with AAP. Despite the fact that the AAP government didn't do much for the drivers after promising the moon, most still hope that the party will deliver. For many, it's simply the refusal to go with Congress.

"The autorickshaw union leaders have been telling everyone to vote for either Congress or BJP. But we have seen the work that both parties have done. Why not try a change?" said Ashutosh, an autorickshaw driver who lives in Shahdara.

Interestingly, the autorickshaw drivers TOI spoke to agreed that not many of the promises made by the AAP government had seen the light of day. Arvind Kejriwal's much publicized promise to autorickshaw drivers to curtail the prosecution powers of the traffic police never took off. In February, he had announced at a "mahasabha" that traffic cops could only challan autorickshaw drivers henceforth, and not suspend their permit or impound their vehicle for violating permit conditions. While permits are now being suspended by the transport department, the number of challans being issued against autorickshaws remains high.

Moreover, his promise that autos needn't install GPS has proved to be a damp squib. Sources in the transport department admitted that GPS-based fare meters were still mandatory for all new permits. At the mahasabha, Kejriwal had announced that installing a GPS device from any empanelled agency would be adequate, and the meter need not be linked to the GPS.

Other measures announced by Kejriwal included making available 5,500 more NCR autorickshaw permits. These permits are yet to be issued. His promise to give new autos in exchange for old ones, with new scrap units being set up in Delhi, was also not implemented. Sources in the department said the scrap units were in the planning process and that the scheme would "soon" be implemented.

The only scheme that was launched by the AAP government and implemented was the issuance of more autorickshaw permits. This was done to add to the autorickshaws fleet. The court had allowed the transport department to issue more permits but only after it had cleared the backlog by issuing permits under the reserved category.