Nellore: Scores of auto rickshaws are off the road in Nellore after police started booking cases against auto drivers as well as owners wherever the drivers are found without valid driving licence as well as other traffic violations and the vehicle are also being seized. In addition to this, the police has been sending all the cases pertaining to licences, overloading and drunken driving for prosecution unlike in the past where traffic cops used to impose fines and allow the drivers to proceed. Police sources said they were taking similar action against erring private vehicle drivers and they have seized 400-odd vehicles during the last 10 days. All these vehicles are now parked in various police stations across the city.
The shift from the usual practice has been causing jitters to auto rickshaw operators as well as other motorists since it takes more than 15 days to complete the legal formalities and collect their vehicle. The action has led owners to stop operating the vehicles till their drivers obtain valid driving licences. The decision has resulted in free traffic flow for the last one week. Police has been following same procedure for private vehicles too. According to traffic police, traffic snarls have come down since one week because 10,000-odd auto of the 60,000-plus auto rickshaws are off the road since last one week because of fear over police cases.
The auto drivers also staged a protest in front of the collectorate blaming police and transport officials for the adverse affect on their livelihood by seizures of vehicles and transferring the cases to the court. However there was no reaction from the officials and this has forced the drivers to rush to MeeSeva centres to apply for licences and waiting for slots to take the test. MeeSeva officials said that the demand for slots for learner licences has been doubled and the slots are not available till August 18 as of now. Deputy Commissioner of Transport Sivaram Prasad said the rush for learner licence tests has increased manifold in the last 10 days. He said he has requested the commissioner for additional computer systems to increase the slots from 120 per day to 150 or 160 to cope with the rush.
