Blame it on the desperation of traffic cops to exhaust their annual leave quota, the khaki presence is a trickle. And this has impacted vigilance on either side of the railway station gate, which is now at the mercy of autorickshaw mafia, e-rickshaws and encroaching vendors.
Sources in the traffic department confirmed the force is short on manpower. After a gruelling two-week winter assembly ‘bandobast’, several policemen have proceeded on leave. Not just the railway station, where shortage of traffic personnel means ‘dadagiri’ of auto drivers, other parts of the city too are struggling as the year-end bandobast is likely to be a challenge with December 31 falling on a Sunday.
“Manpower shortage has compelled traffic police to withdraw personnel from certain positions to ensure arterial roads and key carriageways remain clear. We are firefighting with fewer boots on the ground. Complaints too are attended on priority,” said a senior traffic official.
On Sunday, traffic police’s Sitabuldi division acted against drivers of some illegally parked autorickshaws near the station gate. If the challenge of finding the right transport was not enough, passengers are forced to wait on roads as footpaths are encroached upon by unauthorised vendors.
With Christmas and new year festivities ahead, the railway station is witnessing increased rush. While the auto mafia still holds sway inside the railway premises, the scene on the gates — western (Sitabuldi) and eastern (Santra market) sides — is worse.
TOI’s recce of the railway station on Sunday revealed that illegal autorickshaw drivers (who do not park their vehicle in the pre-paid slot) are grabbing more business than those at pre-paid booths.
While prepaid autorickshaw drivers oppose cab aggregators, on the other hand they remain silent about illegal auto drivers eating into their business. Often, they approach passengers on the porch and take away a bulk of them, depriving licence holders of their share of clients.