Hyderabad: No protocols prescribed to autos

Hyderabad: How safe are autorickshaws in Hyderabad? This is the major question in the wake of rapid spread of coronavirus after lifting some of the restrictions.

The state government, which had issued many guidelines for cabs, has not issued any specific guidelines nor has it taken up any orientation programme for auto drivers on the steps they need to take up and the potential risk of autos being carriers of Covid-19.

All that it said was that only two plus driver should travel by an auto. None of the autos in the city or state are following any safety protocols.

The vehicles are not sanitised and they don't even have a sanitiser and in some cases particularly in interior colonies even the restriction on number of passengers is not being followed. What is more is in many places passengers are sharing the driver's seat. No one seems to be bothered about strict use of masks as well.

There is no protection between the driver and the passenger cabin. There is no way one could know if the driver is free from any infection or not.

In contrast, in Mumbai autos have kept a bottle of sanitiser next to the driver's seat and any passenger who wants to board the auto has to clean his hands.

They have also fixed a thick plastic sheet behind the driver as part of social distancing and protection from any kind of sneezing or coughing by the passengers or vice-versa.

Not just that, once the passenger leaves the auto, the drivers are spraying disinfectants to sanitise the vehicle.

When asked, the transport officials said that there were no specific guidelines issued by the department. The general guidelines given were that only two passengers with masks would be permitted.

A senior official claimed that if the auto drivers carry more passengers than the prescribed numbers, the traffic police was imposing penalties and seizing the autos. But the ground reality seems to be different.

When asked about it, auto drivers in the city said they had no information about fixing the plastic shields. C Nagesh, an auto driver said that he was washing the auto with Dettol everyday after returning home. He also insists that passengers wear masks and have their own hand sanitizer.

Auto Unions JAC leader A Sathi Reddy said that neither the RTA authorities have asked them to have shields. If the government gives instructions and provides financial support to the auto drivers, such measures could be taken, he said.

He, however, agreed that the JAC too did nothing to sensitise the drivers on the risks they and their passengers were facing.