Autorickshaw prepaid booth at Pune railway station may face closure due to election code of conduct

Passengers fear that if the RTO or Traffic Police does not extend the agreement, their situation will be back to square one.

After being closed for nearly four years, the booth was reopened to help prevent passengers from being overcharged.

Booth operators have appealed to the authorities to extend the agreement. During the 100-day period, the booth handled approximately 13,867 trips, generating Rs 22.37 lakh in fares and benefiting 1,226 registered autorickshaw drivers.

Keshav Kshirsagar, president of the Baghtoy Rickshaw Union, said that the union has been independently managing the booth without police assistance. The police aid was assured to maintain law and order and ensure passenger safety. “Despite the initial assurance, the situation has remained the same even after a hundred days,” he said.

Kshirsagar alleged that the administration’s lack of seriousness has resulted in passengers frequently facing issues with autorickshaw drivers over exorbitant fare. “If our request to extend the booth’s operation is not accepted, we may have to shut it down within a couple of days,” he added.

A week ago, Amol Zende, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic Pune, said that he would review the situation and possibly extend the timeline, but no action has been taken so far.

Kshirsagar noted that October 22 was the last date for the extension, and it has now been 10 days since the traffic authority assured a decision would be made.