Jamshedpur: Passengers can get filtered drinking water at the auto stands in Sakchi and Bistupur from next week.
Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) special officer Krishna Kumar said new firms appointed to look after auto stands will install reverse osmosis (RO) water purifiers and put up adequate number of dustbins to ensure overall cleanliness.
"We had asked all private firms, who took part in the auction of auto stands, to provide RO water purifier facilities and undertak cleaning exercise at the auto stands at least twice daily and installing adequate number of dustbins. The auction has been completed and we have directed the private parties to ensure that the facilities are in place before next week. Our team will conduct surprise inspection to ensure compliance," Krishna Kumar said.
There are nearly 20,000 autos that operate in the city ferrying around a lakh passengers daily. Bulk of the autos operate from 11 terminals in different locations in Bistupur and Sakchi.
The JNAC special officer said fares for different destinations would have to be clearly displayed at the stands .
Auto-rickshaw operators welcomed the move.
"We are not averse to paying Rs 20 per day to the private firms but at least now the auto stands will be clean and passengers can get clean drinking water," said Shyam Kinkar Jha, secretary of Shikshit Berojgar Tempo Chalak Sanchalak Sangh.
The auto-rickshaw stands earmarked in Bistupur are near Cold Storage in Bistupur Market, Chaibasa Bus Stand (near Ram Mandir) and near Bank of Baroda. In Sakchi, the stands are earmarked at RD Tata roundabout, Kalimati Road Bridge, Manokamna Mandir (near JNAC office), Milkhiram Market, Jubilee Park Gate, Shitla Mandir, MGM Hospital, near Sakchi roundabout (Straight Mile Road). All places that are used by auto-rickshaw operators to park their vehicles and lift passengers will also come under the purview of the private firms.
Passengers are also happy.
"We used to buy water when we were thirsty while waiting for auto. Now we can get pure water and not worry about garbage littered in the stand," said Sunita Kumari, a student of Graduate School College for Women in Sakchi and a resident of Baridih.
