Despite revocation of the COVID Cess on diesel and petrol, with effect from September 24, autorickshaw fares were yet to be slashed as there were reports of the drivers charging more and as per their whims.
When contacted, Dimapur District Auto Drivers’ Union (DDADU) president Tito Yepthomi told Nagaland Post that following receipt of complaints, the union had advised/requested the drivers to charge “reasonable fares” from passengers.
He explained that the fares were increased earlier as prices of petrol spiked following imposition of the COVID cess.
When pointed out that the drivers continue to charge more even after withdrawal of the cess, Yepthomi said DDADU was waiting for the administration to issue a directive on the rate of fares so that they could follow it up accordingly with the drivers.
The deputy commissioner (DC) Dimapur Rajesh Soundararajan told this reporter that the temporary hike of auto fares was caused due to COVID-related standard operating procedure (SOP) under which the drivers were not allowed to carry many passengers.
“In order to overcome their loss, they hiked the fare. But they should not over-charge their passengers,” DC stressed.
Mentioning that the administration was waiting for the new SOP, the DC assured that if there was any relaxation on passenger fares then the fares of taxis and autos would be reviewed.
As per the Consolidated Guidelines for Unlock 4 issued by the State government on August 31, auto rickshaws have been allowed to ply with certain restrictions on the number of passengers they could carry for ensuring social distancing.