RTO officials feel that installation of electronic meters in rickshaws may reduce tampering incidents.
A breakaway faction of the Sharad Rao’s autorickshaw union led by Thampy Kurien has come out with a solution to meter tampering problem.
General secretary of the Mumbai Rickshawmen’s Union Thampy Kurien said the meters will become completely tamper-proof if better quality seals were introduced for the meters in autorickshaws. To drive home his point, Kurien showed DNA a sample of the plastic seal with a unique serial number.
“It is practically impossible to break these seals or fiddle with their serial numbers. The seals presently in use are useless. Anyone can fiddle with them without really making it obvious for the authorities,” said Kurien.
“The seals in use are thin wires of an alloy of iron or copper. They can be easily twisted and reused. With plastic, there is no other way but to break it. The metal seals cost around Re1 or Rs2. But the plastic seals cost around Rs 7 per piece. We want the government to use these plastic seals and give a unique serial number to each seal. So, everytime the autorickshaw driver comes for vehicle passing, the serial number and his thumb impression can be recorded in a database, which could be useful for enforcement purposes,” added Kurien.
A Regional Transport Officer said the idea seems interesting but its feasibility will have to be verified.
“Previously, we used to have aluminum seals, which were much better. However, the drivers complained that they got rusted easily. The replacements—iron or copper alloys—are no good either. Electronic meters may reduce these things,” he said.
State Transport Commissioner VN More said this issue will be discussed with the unions.
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