Nashik: The regional transport office ( RTO ) on Tuesday launched a week-long drive to check clandestine operations by autorickshaws ferrying passengers without permits.A senior RTO staffer said the drive was taken to check whether private autorickshaws that do not have permits to ferry passengers were operating in the district.A large number of autorickshaw drivers across the district do not have the permits to transport passengers and charge a fare. Despite this, they are seen ferrying passengers and collecting a fare for the same.The senior official said such practice was illegal. Autorickshaw drivers have to get their permits to ferry passengers renewed every year, once their autorickshaw turns a year old.Some drivers, however, convert their autorickshaw into a private vehicle for personal use. If this is the case, it is expected that they do not ferry passengers and charge a fare.There are a number of drivers who do not renew their permits, but continue ferrying passengers. The RTO has decided to find such autorickshaws and initiate action.An RTO official said there are around 22,000 autorickshaws in the district and 1,000 autorickshaws were private and ferrying passengers illegally. The drive will trace such three-wheelers and take action against their owners.The official said autorickshaw owners have to get their permits renewed each year considering that while renewing the permit, the RTO also gets a fitness test of the vehicle to ensure that it is safe for carrying passengers.If the autorickshaw drivers do not get their permits renewed from time to time, the fitness test of the autorickshaw is also not done and ferrying passengers in such autorickshaws is always dangerous.On this backdrop, the Nashik RTO has decided to crackdown on such vehicles in the week-long drive.

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