The Hindu

MANGALORE, Apr 9: After alighting from a bus at Bejai at 6.30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sanjay Naik of Bhatkal, who works as a sales executive in a private firm, wanted to reach Mangalore Central Station. The autorickshaw drivers there would not take him to his destination for anything less than Rs. 50. He had no option but to pay up.

“This is not the first time. The actual fare is Rs. 21,” he told The Hindu at the railway station.

P. Yogesh of Bhatkal, a student who landed at the railway station at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, had to pay Rs. 20 against the meter that read Rs. 16. He had hired it from Bunder, a market area. When he protested, the autorickshaw driver intimidated Mr. Yogesh into paying up the money. Those who hire autorickshaws from Mangalore Junction are forced to pay Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 to various destinations irrespective of the distance or the meter reading. Policemen at the Mangalore Railway Police Station said they did get complaints from the public every day about auto drivers refusing to go to a particular destination.

“They are extra courteous to those who want to go to lodges because they get a commission of Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 from the lodges,” said a policeman.The driving skills of autorickshaw drivers are another area of concern. Ravindra Kamath, a bank employee, finds that autorickshaw drivers take a turn without signalling, causing problems to vehicles behind them. When The Hindu spoke to some autorickshaw drivers at the city railway station, one of them tried to shoo this reporter away, even as others were trying to explain their point of view. They insisted that they asked for only Rs. 5 extra over the meter fare and that only a few drivers were exploiting passengers.