Traffic police crack down on erring autorickshaw drivers at Nashik Road bus stand

Nashik: The traffic police have booked at least 200 autorickshaw drivers in a crackdown at the Nashik Road bus stand launched last week after repeated complaints of congestion caused by illegal parking and halting.Assistant police inspector Yatin Patil said the erring autorickshaw drivers have been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Motor Vehicles Act. “Over the past week, we have taken action against autorickshaw drivers for illegal halting and parking, carrying passengers in the front seat, not wearing uniforms and other violations,” Patil said.The officer said despite the presence of a designated autorickshaw stand, several drivers continued to halt directly in front of the bus stand to pick up and drop passengers, contributing significantly to traffic congestion.Regular commuters said the bus stand and the adjoining road turned chaotic during peak hours, with reckless driving by autorickshaw operators worsening the situation.The drive also comes in the wake of a serious incident last month, when a city bus driver was allegedly assaulted by a group of autorickshaw drivers at the same location after the bus driver asked an autorickshaw driver to move his vehicle to allow a bus to pass. Following the incident, bus drivers staged a protest, temporarily disrupting city bus services.Based on the complaint filed by the bus driver, the Nashik Road police registered a case against eight autorickshaw drivers under charges of unlawful assembly, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation under the BNS.The Nashik Road bus stand witnesses heavy commuter traffic, with passengers frequently moving between the railway station and the bus terminal. The traffic flow is, however, often disrupted as some autorickshaw drivers block roads, encroach on spaces meant for buses and obstruct their movement in and out of the terminal.Assistant police inspector Patil said sustained enforcement over time was expected to bring about a lasting improvement in traffic conditions at the bus stand.