With AAP in driver’s seat, autos send a reminder

NEW DELHI: A common sight on Delhi roads this year has been the black-and-white Aam Aadmi Party poster behind autorickshaws . They have been, quite literally, the driving force behind the anti-graft party’s popularity. They have virtually carried the party on their back. Now that Arvind Kejriwal is to be sworn in as chief minister, they feel it’s payback time. And topping their list of priorities is the promise of a thousand additional auto stands. This, they say, will protect them being hounded out of their waiting spots and being fined for parking violations by the traffic police.

“In Connaught Place and at India Gate, there are no auto stands. We can only park and wait at spots where we are likely to find passengers. But then the traffic police fines us for parking violations. They sometimes even impound our vehicles because of which work suffers for weeks. Where do we recover that money from,” asks Mohan Lal at Pragati Maidan. He links frequent fines to auto drivers overcharging .

Say the words “cheyasath bata ek sau byanwe” (66/192) and everyone instantly opens up. Many have been challaned under this provision of Delhi motor vehicle rules which, they say, covers everything - from not being in uniform to overcharging. Their grouse? The fines are arbitrary and facilitate police harassment.
Janardhan Gupta from Karol Bagh says he has been fined three times this year for Rs 100 each while just waiting by the roadside to pick up passengers. Mahinder Pal, who plies close to AIIMS, says he has been fined five times this year, once for Rs 4000.

Rajendra Soni, general secretary of Delhi Pradesh Taxi and Auto Union, says that while these challans are common, there is more harassment with the introduction of GPS meters. “Auto drivers spend Rs 18,800 to get GPS meters . And then, the traffic police sends a challan home when the network doesn’t work. How is that fair? It is a racket,” says Soni.

It is well-known that AAP has a strong presence in east Delhi. In Mayur Vihar Phase I, every second auto driver one speaks to turns out to be a registered AAP member. Bhageshwar Yadav is one of them. “We just want to earn in peace and with honesty. If there are no stands, where do we park and wait? If we get the thousand additional stands, fewer auto drivers will turn down passengers,” says Yadav, who has been an auto driver for 12 years.

This fear of fines isn’t exaggerated. Close to PVR Plaza in CP, at a moderately busy radial , one could see this in action. Yashbi Singh is reluctant to stop and talk. “Gaadi ghoom rahi hai (the traffic police is patrolling ),” he says. And indeed, after he is persuaded to give five minutes of his time, a patrolling bike does stop by to ask how long he’ll be. As the traffic policemen speeds away, Singh talks about the contrast between the perceived dishonesty of those auto drivers who overcharge and that of Kejriwal who has the image of a nononsense, upright, honest leader. “I don’t want auto drivers to refuse to take passengers or overcharge. We will also have to conduct ourselves like Kejriwal if he comes to power,” says Singh who has been driving an auto since 1984. He is looking forward to the swearing in ceremony at Ramlila Maidan. “I will definitely try to go there,” he says.

Pal plans to take a day off and attend the function. He seems hopeful of change. “If he is strict with auto drivers, of course they will also stop refusing passengers and overcharging ,” says Pal. The very next moment, a woman approaches him and asks if he would take her to Dabri Mor. “Nahin behen, humein to Madangir jaana hain,” he tells her. Kejriwal or no Kejriwal , some things are hard to change.