VADODARA, July 7: The enforcement branch of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) cracked down on 250-odd erring autorickshaw drivers and collected fine worth Rs 10,000. The crackdown is part of a two-day drive launched last week against auto drivers charging fare arbitrarily from passengers and not adhering to the tariff fixed by the RTO.RTO (enforcement) A Chudasama told Express Newsline that a large number of autorickshaw drivers operating between Kothi building and Panigate and beyond on the Ajwa Road charged a fixed amount from passengers, and not according to the meter.He said that some auto drivers in and around the Vadodara railway station areas were also indulging in the malpractice and charged more particularly from outsiders.Under the traffic rule all drivers must charge according to the meter reading, he said. Drivers should take passengers to any place asked by them within municipal limits, any refusal amounts to an offence under the traffic rule, he said. He also asked passengers to take down the registration numbers of autorickshaws, whose drivers either refused to take them to their places or did not charge according to the meter and inform the RTO office. Action will be taking against the guilty, he said.Loans: As many as 221 urban poor have been given loans amounting to Rs 22.56 lakh through the Urban Basic Services (UBS) and Urban Community Development (UCD) projects run by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). According to Deputy Municipal Commissioner (General) I B Peerzada, the loans have been given by nationalised banks to enable urban poor generate self-employment.
