PUNE: When Medha Palnitkar, a resident of Baner Pashan Link Road, tried to hail an autorickshaw in the afternoon to travel to Kalyaninagar, none of those parked at the stand near her house agreed to ply. However, an autorickshaw dropping off another passenger came to her rescue. But the driver allowed her to board the vehicle only after obtaining the go-ahead from all autorickshaw drivers at the stand.Palnitkar's experience is nothing unusual for residents of Baner, Balewadi and Pashan - all newly-developed pockets on the western end of the city . According to those who regularly rely on autorickshaws here, the drivers are usually reluctant to ply and routinely demand return fare, citing lack of customers and even charge arbitrary fares by refusing to ply by the meter.Expressing frustration with the attitude of autorickshaw drivers, Palnitkar said, "They are rude and downright stubborn. The driver who finally drove me to Kalyaninagar told me that those who refused to ferry me were local residents, and none of them will ever ply beyond their self-defined boundaries".Chaitanya Wankhede, a resident of Baner, questioned how the autorickshaw drivers fixed the fares. "The autorickshaw drivers decide whom they want to ply , which routes they want to take and how much they want to charge. They demand an exhorbitant amount when they see that the passenger is in a hurry . If it's a short distance, they will ask for an illogical fare," he said, justifying the popularity of Ola and Uber in the area.Questioning their behaviour, Raghunath Iyer, a resident of Link Road, said, "The autorickshaw drivers would rather waste the whole day playing cards because their kitchen is run by their wives who slog as maids," he said.Ashok Morale, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), assured action. "We will actively penalise autorickshaw drivers in that area who refuse to ply . It is also important to talk to these drivers, and sensitize them about the issue," he said, while admitting that the problem is more acute in the area because of inadequate connectivity of public transport.Admitting to the problem, Regional Transport Officer Babasaheb Ajri urged citizens to send in official complaints with complete details for punitive action against errant drivers.Chandrasekaran A. R., a resident of Balewadi, said no tangible action is taken by the authorities against autorickshaw drivers even after lodging official complaints.

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