Thaindian News

Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) The transport wing of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Wednesday said all its 10,000 autorickshaw permit holders would be going in for electronic meters.

“We have initiated a drive to install electronic meters so that the drivers do not tamper with the meter to overcharge passengers,” Haji Arfat Sheikh, president of the wing, told IANS.

The Mumbai Autorickshaw Men’s Union, headed by Sharad Rao, is opposed to electronic meters and has gone off the roads twice in two weeks.

More than 200 auto rickshaws of MNS’s transport wing were installed with electronic fare meters Wednesday, a party official said.

“We have spoken to the concerned regional transport officers across Mumbai,” Sheikh said. “The auto rickshaws will be getting electronic meters as and when the RTO is ready.”

Meanwhile, an auto rickshaw driver belonging to the MNS’s transport wing was beaten up by MNS workers for refusing to take a woman to hospital.

“Yes, the driver is a member of our union, but unlike other unions, we do not shield defaulting drivers,” Sheikh said.

“A non-bailable offence has been registered against 12 party workers for beating up the driver and they will be produced in court Thursday,” Sheikh added.

Earlier Tuesday, stating that over 95 percent of automen caught indulging in malpractices were from UP and Bihar, Thackeray said that these immigrants stay in Mumbai using fake documents.

Thackeray had also indicated that the real motive behind the strike was not fare hike, but to protest against transport officials punishing automen who regularly tamper with their meters.