'I was on my way to the temple'

45 auto drivers were fined for rejecting passengers while some displayed sheer arrogance others came up with innovative excusesPlace Nehru Nagar KurlaTime 11 am1 pmOffenders caught 6Commuters speakPradeep Bandre Assistant Engineer MSEB said Most of the rickshaw drivers say that they want to ply on the western side of Bandra where the scope for getting fares is more Mumtaz Ali who wanted to go to Kanjurmarg said The autorickshaw drivers are very arrogant and rude They dont mind telling meri rickshaw hai aur mere hisab se chalegi I am the owner of this rickshaw and will ply wherever I want tou00a0u00a0 Im scared A driver said that he was beaten up by his counterparts for plying a passenger from their area Auto Drivers SpeakB Pandey Ever since I was beaten by drivers at Bandra station for plying a passenger from their area I have stopped taking fares to that area Shekar Devlekaru00a0 The passenger asked me to ferry him to Kanjurmarg but I refused as there was no fuelu00a0u00a0u00a0 Text Faisal Tandel Pic Atul KamblePlace Outside Andheri stationTime 9 am 11 amOffenders caught 9Commuters speakMagan Purohit said Rickshaw drivers just refuse to ply to shorter distances like JB Nagar and MIDC They do not even sympathise with senior citizensMy way long way Auto drivers outside Andheri station East only wanted to ferry long distance fares and paid the price for itSpot of botherInitially rickshaw driver Altaf Mohammed refused to ply four passengers to relatively nearby destinations However after Head Constable Tanaji Kadam approached him he immediately halted his rickshaw and started offering the excuse that his vehicle had broken down and even asked a couple of passerbys to help him park itu00a0to the side of the road Sensing something amiss constable Kadam decided to drive the rickshaw and found that the vehicle was in working condition When Kadam questioned Mohammed about the false act he had put up to avoid being fined the latter maintained that he did not refuse to ply any of the passengers However the four passengers whom he had refused to ply earlier approached Kadam and lodged complaints against the driver His license was confiscated following the complaintsu00a0 Text Nivedita Dargalkar Pic Shadab KhanPlace Kalanagar Bridge near MHADA Office Bandra eastTime 9 am 11 amOffenders caught13Commuters SpeakParmita Sheth said Drivers come up with silly excuses all the time How can they refuse to ply if they are outu00a0 on the streets to earn Travelling in rickshaws has become hopelessFor gods sake Drivers here came up with innovative excuses from being sick to showing an agarbatti to prove their innocence Autou00a0 Drivers SpeakWinson Nadad With my meter half down I was going home to take my medicinesI didnt even entertain a single passenger To me my health is more important Nandkishore Chaturbhuj To start my day I was going to the temple to seek blessings from god and hence forgot to put the meter half down I can show you the agarbatti as well Henceforth Ill make sure that my meter is half downText Dazy Verma PicDatta KumbharPlace Ghatkopar WTime 930 am1130 amOffenders caught 17Commuters speak Ganesh Kulkarni said Several rickshaw drivers pick up people even when their meters are half meter This is totally wrong At Ghatkopar rickshaw drivers want to go to far off places like Andheri Malad Borivli rather than nearby destinations within Ghatkopar this is unethical Laila Gandhi said Rickshaw drivers fight with us when we say that we will complain about heir arrogance But since the time a traffic constable has been posted outside Ghatkopar station they have fallen in lineAuto drivers speak Gandeep Shanth I am not from this area I didnt know that here people cannot catch rickshaws from the left side Now I stand to lose my days wage paying the fine Abdul Karim I did not refuse anyone but took those who jumped the queue and wanted to go to Malad as I would get a good amount of money Spot of bother At least three rickshaw drivers were caught for refusals and when they were asked for their licences they were unable to produce one Ashok Hake one of the drivers who was caught said I will go where I want and if I drive without a licence it is my problem I am not a public servant People should travel by buses or trains and not rickshaws if they feel we are refusing Deepak Chauhan another driver who refused to ply and was without a licence said I have given my licence for renewal I refused because they wanted to go to Kanjurmarg and I wanted to go to Andheri Inspector Kegle said There is no proof that Deepak has given his licence for renewal Hence he will be booked for refusal as well as driving without one Many rickshaw drivers who refuse are actually the ones driving without licences so we make them leave their rickshaws and the keys here and ask them to go home and get their licences Sudharshan Mishra who was caught for the second time argued I am ready to pay the fine I dont have the time to go and collect the licence Diwali is coming and I need to earn money to be able to send some to my parents back homeText Maleeva Rebello