Gurgaon: Few autos on flooded roads fleece commuters

With incessant rainfall causing waterlogging in different parts of Gurgaon on Saturday, commuters, especially the pedestrians, had a harrowing time.

The city’s public transport system being unorganised and the road infrastructure being poor, added to the commuter’s miseries.

While Metro has not yet reached most of Gurgaon, the city’s bus service is also negligible, restricting public transport mainly to auto-rickshaws and cycle rickshaws.

With rainfall continuing through the day, the auto drivers fleeced commuters charging more than double the usual rates. While most of the autos remained off the roads for fear of breakdown, the cycle rickshaws stopped plying due to unidentifiable potholes.

“I have been stranded in the rain for over an hour waiting for an auto-rickshaw. Most of them are not even stopping and those who do are asking for double or triple the amount,” said Kulbir Singh of Civil Lines.

The auto-rickshaws, fares for which are proposed to be regulated by the transport department, took full advantage of the commuters’ situation.

“People have no option but to pay us the increased amount as very few vehicles are running. As the CNG engine is more prone to breakdown, we are using only petrol today which costs more. This is why we are charging more,” said Om Prakash, an auto-rickshaw driver.