Govt pushed e-autos with incentives but Kasaragod drivers fight daily for stand space

Kasaragod: Shafeek Hameed of Meeppugiri in Madhur panchayat sold his CNG autorickshaw four years ago and bought an electric one when the government was promoting the shift to cleaner vehicles, offering incentives such as zero road tax and a subsidy of ₹30,000. The government also allowed electric autorickshaws to operate without permits.

Today, Hameed is wary of taking his vehicle out on the road. He fears confrontations with drivers of petrol and diesel autorickshaws who object to electric vehicles using their stands.

“They say we have permission to ply on the roads, not to use their stands,” said Hameed.

He is not alone. Around 120 electric autorickshaws operate in Kasaragod town, and their drivers say friction with conventional autorickshaw operators has become part of their daily lives. “Altercations sometimes escalate into clashes, and we file complaints with the police," said Radhakrishnan, another e-auto driver.

The police summon both sides, warn them against repeating such incidents and let them go. E-auto drivers said in the past eight months, they had submitted five petitions to municipal chairperson Shahina Salim seeking a solution. "But our petitions never go beyond her table," said Hameed.

On Tuesday too, around 100 e-auto drivers got together at the Municipal office to submit another petition, seeking special passes to use auto stands in the towns.

Hameed, who has been driving an auto for the past 18 years, has owned diesel, petrol and CNG auto before buying the e-auto. A vehicle costing around ₹5 lakh, however, can cost its owner ₹6 lakh to ₹6.5 lakh when loan interest is included. The vehicles offer a claimed range of 150km on a full charge, though drivers say they get around 140km. Hameed said he could earn around ₹1,200 to ₹1,300 a day by driving around 100 km, provided he gets the space. But earning that money has become difficult for drivers in Kasaragod town.

Similar disputes have surfaced elsewhere in Kerala, with trade unions such as CITU and IUML's STU siding with the conventional auto drivers. In Kozhikode, around 3,000 special passes were issued in three phases for e-auto drivers to settle the dispute. Kannur and Thrissur have also introduced special passes, according to the drivers. They said Wayanad and Mangaluru also issued passes.

Kasaragod's e-auto drivers say they need only around 150 passes, given that their numbers are far lower than those in larger cities. Kasaragod municipality officials said they had issued 7,000 permits for autorickshaws but stopped issuing new ones around four years ago because of the growing numbers. But Hameed said only around 1,000 of those vehicles now operate in Kasaragod town. Many others have stopped operating or work in rural areas such as Madhur, Badiadka and Mulleria. “If 7,000 permits were issued and only around 1,000 vehicles are operating in the town, there should be room for us. We are asking for just 150 passes,” he said.

An RTI reply from the Transport Commissioner stated that e-autos could pick up passengers from any stand. "But these clarifications remain on paper. On the road, we face hostility," said Rafeeq, another e-auto driver.

The municipality has proposed allowing electric autorickshaw owners to transfer the permit of an old vehicle to their new electric one. But that offers little relief to those who sold their previous vehicles years ago and no longer have access to those permits, the drivers said.

Kasaragod Municipality chairperson Shahina Salim said a council meeting was expected to be held within a month and that the issue would be taken up.