Bhubaneswar, Dec. 14: Autorickshaw operators today gave their consent for the proposed pink auto service for women in the city.

At an awareness drive at Khandagiri today, members of the Bhubaneswar Autorickshaw Mahasangha said the association would recommend the names of 200 autorickshaw operators for the pink auto service proposed by city police.

“We will recommend the names of the auto operators by December 20, and after verifying their antecedents, the police will issue them certificates,” said association secretary Padman Kumar Samal.

The association has also proposed to start the pink auto service with 200 autorickshaws though the police had planned to introduce the service with 1,000 three-wheelers.

The operators also proposed that though the pink autos would give priority to women, male passengers would also be able to hire the vehicles.

“We requested the police to keep the autorickshaws at important locations, including the railway station and in front of various educational institutes. But, it is almost impossible to sustain livelihood by only ferrying female passengers. If any female passengers want to hire the pink autorickshaws, they would be given preference. But, these autorickshaws would also carry male passengers,” said Samal.

Though the police are planning to paint the entire autorickshaw with pink colour, the operators requested to paint a specific portion of the vehicle with pink colour to decrease the cost. “It requires around Rs 7,000 to change the colour of an autorickshaw. So, we have requested the police to paint a specific portion with pink colour,” said Samal.