TimesView There should be some semblance of order even in a sector as lawless as the auto-rickshaw. Merely reacting to incidents like Monday’s will not help; a sustained, citywide campaign is the need of the hour. KOLKATA: Whether it is in extreme north of the city or down south, auto drivers have made it a norm to truncate their routes, spelling utmost harassment for commuters in Tollygunge , Behala, Sinthee and Salt Lake alike who more often than not have to pay double the original fare. The practice seems to get rampant especially during peak hours, when commuters are in a hurry to return home.The transport department, which promised to rein in errant drivers, seems to have put the crackdown on hold for elections. Auto operators have their excuse ready. “We make fewer trips because of jams. Peak hour is the only time we can make up for lost trips,” said Khokan Sardar, an operator.On certain routes, the fares for truncated distances are often higher than the entire stretch, Gariahat-Behala being notorious for it. None of the autos to Behala seems available from Gariahat. “Just after evening, these autos start plying from Rashbehari, but even then, they never travel the full stretch. Most will end the journey at Taratala, from where, we have to take another auto till the end. But what is most infuriating is that for the truncated journey, the drivers want Rs 20 though the end-to-end fare is Rs 12. From Taratala, you have to pay Rs 10 to reach tram depot,” said P Ganguly, who travels from Rashbehari to Behala PS.If this is what happens in south Kolkata, the scene is no better in the north. Auto operators break the Sithee-Kamarhati routes in three segments, making commuters cough up double the official fare. The fare for the entire stretch is Rs 12, but no auto travels the length at one go. “They have devised one route from Sinthee till Dunlop (Rs 7), one from Dunlop to Rathtala (Rs 7) and from there, to Kamarhati (Rs 7),” said Arindam Chanda, an LIC employee.Chandan Roy, who commutes from Tollygunge to Garia, said, “We are to blame for allowing the drivers to fleece us. The Tollygunge-Garia alignment has enough buses and Metro. Yet, we avail of autos and it is the price we pay for our laziness.” But another commuter, Suparna Banerjee, argued: “We have to take autos as buses are too crowded to travel in in peak hours.”

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