Overloaded auto-rickshaws continue to pose threat to students in Visakhapatnam

13-yr-old's death in Vizag highlights auto-rickshaw drivers' negligence. Despite enforcement, they cram 8-10 students in a vehicle, flouting norms. Residents, students depend on auto-rickshaws, which ply at high speeds on NH-16. Police to conduct awareness meetings & book cases against violators.

The death of a 13-year-old boy on Friday, who accidentally fell off an auto-rickshaw at Aganampudi, has once again thrown a light on the negligent driving of the three-wheeler drivers, who continue to flagrantly flout traffic norms here in the city.

Despite enforcement, overpacked auto-rickshaws are a common sight in most areas. Though the permissible limit for a small auto-rickshaw is four passengers and six for a big one, the autos are regularly seen crammed with at least eight to 10 schoolchildren in the city.

Violating the norms, the drivers have allowed the students to sit beside them (driver’s seat) and even at the back of the vehicle. While some auto-rickshaws allow two students to sit in the back, some vehicles are seen arranging cardboard to accommodate four students and make additional profits.

J Mohan Rao, a Pharmacity employee and a resident of Resapuvanipalem, said that the auto-rickshaw driver who ferries his son to a school at MVP Colony, charges about ₹1,500 per month.

“Since I leave to work early, we are opted for an auto-rickshaw. The driver charges about ₹1,500 per month. He takes 10 children at a time, where students are made to sit beside him apart from the back of the vehicle,” he said, adding that though he knew the danger behind, but he was forced to opt auto-rickshaw, as it is economically much better compared to a school bus.

Not just school-going students, students from a number of Engineering colleges depend on the auto-rickshaws to reach their institutions. Many students board the three-wheelers from Maddilapalem, Isukathota, Venkojipalem, and Hanumanthuwaka to reach their colleges and travel about 10 km to 20 km every day. On the NH-16, the auto-rickshaw drivers ply at very high speeds, rashly overtaking fellow vehicles.

As per the traffic police estimates, there are over 60,000 to 70,000 auto-rickshaws in three districts – Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju. Of them, more than half of the vehicles ply in the Visakhapatnam district alone.