An unauthorised auto-rickshaw stand in Sakchi on Sunday. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

To streamline traffic movement on steel city roads, East Singhbhum district police have written to Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), asking the civic body if there are authorised stands for auto-rickshaws.

The move is aimed at setting up depots for the three-wheelers that are otherwise parked at random, leading to traffic snarls.

Speaking about the letter they wrote to the civic body, traffic DSP Rakesh Mohan Sinha said that Jamshedpur did not have a single notified auto-rickshaw stand, despite the fact that more than 25,000 three-wheelers ply in the city.

“There are some authorised stands for mini-buses, but none for auto-rickshaws. So, unauthorised stands have mushroomed everywhere. The JNAC already has designated a stand for long-distance buses at Sitaramdera. As the city’s civic guardian, it should provide space to set up similar stands for auto-rickshaws too,” he added.

The senior officer added that auto-rickshaw operators held traffic to ransom.

“They pick up passengers from busy intersections and roundabouts like the Sakchi island. The CCTV cameras installed in Sakchi track the irregular way in which they operate,” said Sinha.

Traffic department sources said when errant auto-rickshaw operators were nabbed, they made excuses that they picked up passengers from random spots as they did not have designated stands.

Auto-rickshaw operator Sumeet Sinha said there were over 200 unauthorised auto stands across the city and pointed out that most of them had cropped up along roads in residential areas.

“As there are no authorised stands, safety of passengers remains a concern,” he said, adding that designated stands would benefit both operators and passengers.

Jamshedpur Tempo Chalak Sangh president Firoz Khan welcomed the move.

“Operators face problems owing to lack of designated depots. If the administration sets up stands for three-wheelers, we will be happy,” said Khan.