Pune Police, RTO crack down on 375 auto

In a special drive carried out on March 10 and 12, the traffic control branch of the Pune city police, along with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) authorities, took action against 375 auto-rickshaw drivers for violations at the crowded Swargate junction.

According to a statement issued on Saturday, the special drive targeted overloaded auto-rickshaws, those causing obstructions to traffic flow, and those who refused to ferry passengers, and also drivers without uniforms.

The police and RTO teams carried out inspections at the in-gate and out-gate of Swargate bus depot, Swargate Mahametro area, and Jedhe Chowk.

On March 10, as per the instructions of Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic) Himmat Jadhav, a team led by assistant police inspector Shobha Kshirsagar took action against 146 auto-rickshaws.

They included 111 auto-rickshaws carrying excessive passengers and 32 drivers who refused to carry passengers.

Also, the police attached three faulty auto-rickshaws, the press release stated.

On March 12, the traffic police andPuneRTO officers carried out a joint drive and filed cases against 186 drivers, including 92 who allowed passengers beyond the permissible limit, 21 who refused to take passengers, 48 who did not wear uniform, and 18 who created traffic blocks.

Also, seven faulty auto-rickshaws were attached by the police authorities.

Meanwhile, the RTO officials separately filed cases against 43 auto-rickshaws, the press release mentioned.

The police have appealed to auto-rickshaws to follow traffic norms strictly and said similar drives would be conducted in the future to check traffic violations.