Proper demarcation of lines, clear markings painted on-road and destination display boards; are the few things that the auto-rickshaw unions have demanded from the government authorities for streamlining the mess caused by share-auto rickshaws outside railway stations on both western and eastern suburbs. On March 17, the auto-rickshaw unions held a meeting with Mumbai Traffic Police where they have put up their demands in order to ensure that the situation outside railway stations improve for vehicular traffic management and movement of pedestrians entering and exiting from stations.
Sources who were part of the meeting said that the unions have asked for field visits of railway stations and the situation outside which will enable them to gauge the actual ground reality. Some of the locations that the auto-rickshaw unions highlighted were Borivali, Kandivali, Goregaon, Kurla, Bandra, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli and Mulund where the situation isn’t pleasant during morning and evening peak hours for motorists and pedestrians.
“We have asked the Traffic Police to inspect the situation outside railway stations. Also, there has to be clear-cut demarcation made for share-auto stands which are segregated according to the locality they ply from the railway station. This will eliminate haphazard queuing outside railway stations,” said Thampi Kurien, leader of Mumbai Rickshawmen’s Union.
On average, there are at least 3-5 different localities that these share-auto rickshaws ply to and from each railway station. Multiple rickshaws queue up and at times the unruly ones even break the queue and enter in-between which leads to arguments among drivers and also causes problems for people. The need for proper roads, clearing of hawkers and vendors and other obstructions are also required to smoothen the condition.
Sources said that a study across Western and Eastern suburbs has been proposed across all Divisions of Traffic Police. The RTOs and BMC will also be roped in and a Committee too has been proposed, which is not yet formed. These steps are being initiated after Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police Sanjay Pandey met auto and taxi unions and asked them to stop haphazard parking outside the entry/exit points of railway stations.
The unions had then demanded that the drop-off points outside railway stations, which falls under the jurisdiction of Indian Railways, be opened up for these autos and taxis to stand and wait for passengers. At present, the problem faced outside many railway stations is that these auto-rickshaws and taxis carelessly park their vehicles waiting for a passenger to hail them.
