Ahmedabad rickshaw unions protest mandatory police registration, allege officials charging ₹100 for sticker

To enhance public safety, the Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, has mandated that all auto-rickshaws in the city register at their respective police stations and display an official sticker. 

However, five unions of auto-rickshaw drivers have alleged that even though a private company has already collected rickshaw data for the police, authorities are now charging ₹50 to ₹100 per sticker.

Ahmedabad has around two lakh auto-rickshaws. Objecting to the new rule requiring stickers from the respective police stations, five associations have submitted a formal complaint to the Commissioner’s office.

The unions — Jagrut Auto-Rickshaw Driver Union, Railway Station Auto-Rickshaw Driver Union, Rickshachalak Ekta Union-85, Auto Driver Ekta Samiti, and Navyug Auto Driver Welfare Association — claimed that the Ahmedabad Traffic Police had previously collected data from rickshaw drivers through a private company. 

This data collection was said to be part of the Nirbhaya Safety Project.

Despite that, rickshaw drivers are once again being compelled to register and purchase stickers. 

The unions further alleged that at the Kalupur, Gaekwad Haveli, and Kagadapith police stations, officials are charging ₹50 to ₹100 per sticker, effectively turning the safety initiative into a money-making exercise.