At the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) meeting chaired by deputy commissioner Darshan HV on Monday, electric autorickshaw drivers urged the authorities not to impose zone restrictions on their operations. They argued that e-autos should be allowed to ply freely across the district, including Mangaluru city, without being limited to designated areas.
Representatives highlighted that restricting e-autos to rural belts would make it extremely difficult to sustain operations. Mohammed Riyaz, an e-auto driver, stressed that the current flexibility has allowed them to serve passengers better, and requested that this arrangement continue.
On the other hand, leaders of conventional autorickshaws raised concerns over the rising number of vehicles and the lack of adequate auto stands in the city. They stated that issuing additional permits for e-autos had reduced their daily earnings.
Krishna Murthy, president of the Dakshina Kannada Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association, recalled that the RTA had stopped issuing new permits in 1997 to control numbers. He demanded that fresh permits for electric autorickshaws should be issued only to licensed and badged drivers, and strictly limited to one per applicant after thorough document verification. He also pressed for strict implementation of zone rules within Mangaluru to prevent overcrowding.
Adding to the discussion, Ganesh R Shaktinagar, convenor of the Karnataka Drivers’ Union, drew attention to unauthorised collection of parking fees at several auto stands. Responding to this, the DC assured that a special drive would be launched against illegal fee collection.
Senior officials including SP Arun K and RTO Shridhar K Mallad were also present at the meeting.