Foolish Feelings

Did you hate his guts each time he dared you to dial the helpline number printed on his auto? Well, he did it because that number stopped working a long time ago! And, sadly, the authorities made no attempt to publicise the new one
Right from the crowded city markets to the nooks and corners of colonies, finding an auto that goes by meter is a task in itself. And if you want one to go a short distance, you would be left there to wait forever, yet autos are something one can’t do without. But someday if you happen to lose it and are so angry that you want to complain against these errant drivers, and remember seeing the grievance phone number 42400400 printed on the autos. You dial it and what you hear makes you further go mad. All you would get to hear is the operator in her monotonous voice informing you that ’this number does not exist’. The instant you hear it, no doubt you’d murmur ’when will our authorities work properly’. But here’s the catch. Don’t blame the authorities just yet. The number is outsourced to a private company the contract of which has ended. The new number came into effect from the August 1 this year. Now you can blame start blaming the authorities for they have done nothing to make the general public know about the change. And looks like it will take the authorities a whole year to fully implement it. Ayodhya Prasad, MLO (Auto) Delhi Traffic Police, tells LDP, "The changed number 155345 has started working and the auto drivers are required to put the new number on their autos but they don’t do it. It is not possible for us to personally track each and every auto and change the number. These autos have a fitness number which expires in a span of one year. So as and when autos come for their fitness check we make the changes." He also adds, "Even the commuters don’t complain. They easily give in to what the autowallahs demand." In order to make it easy for the commuters to lodge complaints against auto rickshaw drivers, Delhi Traffic Police has also launched a new SMS based complaint system, the number being 6767. Again this number is nowhere to be seen on the autos. Educating the general public about the changed numbers and their usage seems to be lowest on the priority of the concerned authorities. The authorities on their part also complain that the problem lies with the commuters. They crib, they shout, they loathe but they don’t complain. The number of passengers who avail these services is really low. They don’t have the time to take a stand. They would grudge and pay more but won’t take the pain of calling up the police or registering a complaint. It is time to not give in to the auto nuisance but take a focused and concerted action and show them that they can’t get away so easily.