How do we monitor commuters, ask auto drivers

NEW DELHI; The Indian capital's autorickshaw drivers are a worried lot following Saturday's bomb attacks - after the deadliest of the bombs blew up in one of their vehicles.

The bomb that killed 13 of the 20 people was left behind in an autorickshaw at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. Its driver was unaware of the deadly cargo until it exploded with a deafening roar.

Now autorickshaw drivers in Delhi are wondering if they will be expected to check what the passengers carry.

“As a driver it is not possible to monitor what the passenger carries and whether it is safe or not,” said Om Prakash, a Paharganj resident who has been driving his autorickshaw for 17 long years.

“Now, after a bomb was found to have been planted in an auto at Gaffar Market, I will have to be more alert and check my auto each time a passenger is dropped,” Prakash said.

Delhi is home to some 80,000 autorickshaws, of which only 20 percent are self-owned. The remaining are driven after paying rent.

"For someone like me, who rents the auto for eight hours a day, the responsibility is doubled,” said Ramesh Lal, who often picks up commuters from the Nizammudin railway station.

"Our job is to get passengers from one point to another, whether they are carrying a big suitcase from the station or a briefcase for work. If we insist on checking them, they’ll get offended and won’t hire our auto,” he said.

“It is the responsibility of the police to beef up safety measures," added Harbans Kumar, who has been driving for 10 years.

“Once the police found my passenger was carrying alcohol. They asked me where the bottles were from. How was I supposed to know what the passenger has?” Kumar asked.

But Kumar agrees that vigilance is the need of the hour.

“I can’t be choosy about passengers. Being alert and notifying authorities are perhaps the only way to help deal with terror,” he said.