Mumbai: The minister of state for home, Ranjit Patil on Friday said that it would soon be compulsory for ‘kaali-peeli’ taxis and auto rickshaws to have Global Positioning System (GPS) to ensure safety of women commuters. The announcement came after the case of the Thane commuter, who was molested by an auto driver, was raised in the house.
Leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil raised the issue and narrated many examples on how commuters are being harassed by auto drivers in Mumbai suburbs and Thane. “The auto drivers cheat commuters, they misbehave with women and lives of commuters are jeopardised by them,” he said.
In his reply, Mr Patil said, “We will make it compulsory for autos and taxis to install GPS systems on the lines of private app based taxis.
This will keep a watch on them. Also, the permit for the autos would be given on demand,” he said.
On the Thane auto problem, the minister said that there were 36,000 license holder autos of which 30,000 have smart cards.
“After the molestation incident, RTO officials checked 7212 autos in the area and licenses of 104 autos were cancelled and permits of 108 auto drivers were also suspended.
In 2016-17, the RTO found 17,000 vehicles faulty and 353 permits were cancelled. The RTO has collected '3.47 crore fine,” he added.
In the Thane incident, the 17-year-old victim, a resident of Sonarpada in Dombivli, was walking towards home from her classes on June 12 at around 6 pm in the evening when the two men dragged her into
the auto-rickshaw and drove off. She was molested inside the moving auto.
The Thane police arrested two persons, including an auto-rickshaw driver in the case.
Close on the heels of this case, there was another instance of molestation in Thane itself when a 23-year-old woman was allegedly molested.
