Salt Lake: Autorickshaws in Salt Lake and Sector V continue to ply on truncated routes in violation of rules a week after commuters had put up a blockade near Ultadanga police station to protest the demand for higher fares by auto drivers.

Metro visited Ultadanga railway station on Tuesday morning and tried to hail an auto to travel to Karunamoyee. The fare is Rs 14 but the drivers were demanding Rs 50.

" Ponchash taka laagbey. Ditey holey din na holey nemey jaan (Pay Rs 50 or get down)" was the refrain.

Autos for Sector V leave the Hudco intersection. Most drivers were refusing to travel the entire distance.

"We are only ferrying passengers till City Centre. From there, you will get autos till Sector V," a driver on the route said.

Most of the drivers who were refusing to ply till Sector V were picking passengers for the tech hub at City Centre.

The fare from the Hudco crossing till Sector V is Rs 25.

The fare for a ride till City Centre from Ultadanga is Rs 12 but passengers are forced to pay Rs 20 or more during rush hours. The fare between City Centre and Sector V varies between Rs 25 and Rs 30.

Sector V-bound passengers from the Hudco crossing are ending up paying double the fare - or even more - by being forced to travel on truncated routes.

Metro had reported how passengers headed for Salt Lake or Sector V had a tough time on Monday after a section of auto drivers tried to stop other three-wheelers from entering Salt Lake from Ultadanga to protest alleged police high-handedness.

On being asked why passengers had to pay more than the stipulated fare, the auto drivers cited a variety of reasons, including a drop in the number of three-wheelers.

At Karunamoyee, too, a number of drivers refused to ply till Ultadanga. They were saying they would ply till Punjab National Bank, City Centre or Baisakhi.

An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said they had been telling the drivers to follow the rules laid down by the transport department and not ply on truncated routes.

"The drivers create trouble whenever we check their vehicles and fine them for violations. We have asked them not to operate on truncated routes," the officer said.

The transport department is trying to align the autorickshaw routes between Ultadanga and Salt Lake or Sector V according to the convenience of passengers so that truncated or overlapping routes could be avoided.

This, however, has met with resistance from a section of autorickshaw drivers.

More than 5,000 autos ply between Ultadanga and Salt Lake/Sector V.