The State Transport Authority, in collaboration with the Chandigarh Traffic Police, will launch a massive checking-cum-challan drive to curb the auto-rickshaw menace on the city roads. In order to check the increasing level of pollution in Chandigarh and to restrict the outstation auto rickshaws from plying on city roads, the special drive will be launched on Thursday morning. The drive is aimed at banning those auto rickshaws, which are registered outside Chandigarh and are violating norms on the city roads. Traffic police officers added that the auto rickshaws have become a major source of pollution on city roads. “Mainly, the auto rickshaws, which are registered outside Chandigarh, are still running on diesel or petrol. However, we are in process of banning the petrol/ diesel-run autos and are gradually converting all the autos on LPG-running systems. With such a drive, we will be able to at least restrict the number of autos on city roads and contribute towards reducing the air pollution,” said one of the senior traffic police officials. The State Transport Authority has also appealed to the city residents, not to hire such auto rickshaws, which do not bear Chandigarh’s registration number. The STA has also warned such auto rickshaw operators (those registered outside Chandigarh, but yet carrying out business in city) not to operate in city, failing which, stringent actions shall be taken against the violators under the Motor Vehicle Act.
