311 autos impounded in Chandigarh for plying without permits

In a bid to crack down on autos running without permits, the traffic police launched a special drive in the city on Monday, which continued till Tuesday evening, and impounded 311 autos for not carrying proper documentation.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP, traffic administration) Kewal Krishan said, “Commercial vehicles bearing the registration number of other states are not allowed to ply in the city if they don’t have permits. This was the first of many such checks to ensure autos from other states don’t ply in the city.”

The traffic police have also started issuing challans to autos for stopping on the main road at Udyog Path, Dakshin Marg and Madhya Marg, even as the challaning drive will officially start from February 1. Seven challans were issued to drivers for illegally stopping their autos on the roads to pick up and drop off passengers. Speaking about this, traffic police officials said that it was a part of their awareness campaign, and only a few challans were issued in cases where the auto drivers weren’t listening while most drivers were made aware of these new rules without being issued a challan.

In all, 264 auto drivers were issued challans. Eleven autos were challaned for wrongly parking their autos on roads. “It is observed that auto drivers park their autos on roads, especially near schools and colleges, around the time they close, causing traffic congestion. We will be keeping a check on this,” said DSP Krishan.

Calling this a much-needed step, road safety activist Harpreet Singh said that auto drivers from other cities are more likely to break rules. “Anyone living in Chandigarh is aware of the rules, while outsiders have an issue. It can spoil the whole traffic scenario of the city when they stop their autos near intersections to pick and drop passengers. The traffic police need to do these drives more often so that unauthorised autos can be taken to task.”

Eleven auto drivers were also challaned for talking on the phone while driving. However, no autos were found to be carrying more than four children. Diesel-operated autos were also not found plying in the city during the drive.