Now passengers can avail facility upto 11 pm till Oct. 16

Mysore/Mysuru: With rampant complaints of auto drivers fleecing gullible passengers arriving by trains from different destinations at the City Railway Station late night amidst Dasara celebrations, the Traffic Police have extended the functioning of the  lone prepaid auto stand by 2 hours. Accordingly, the auto stand, which used to shut down at 9 pm, will now remain open till 11 pm up to Oct.16.

Traffic ACP S.E. Gangadharaswamy told Star of Mysore this morning that he has directed the jurisdictional Devaraja Traffic Police to ensure that the lone prepaid stand at the City Railway Station remains open till 11 pm at least until Oct. 16 as there will be a huge mobility of people in Mysuru during Dasara.

He further said that the department would consider extension of the date depending upon the response of commuters after Dasara and added that this prepaid auto stand will open at 6 am on all days as usual.

Prior to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic last year, there were 10 prepaid auto service points spread across the city — three at the City Railway Station (inside main Gate, CFTRI Gate entrance and at Babu Jagjivan Ram Circle close to the Station), KSRTC Sub-Urban Bus Stand, Mysuru Zoo, Hardinge Circle on B.N. Road, Infosys, JSS Hospital, K.R. Hospital and at Varaha Gate of the Palace.

But the nationwide COVID-induced lockdown forced the closure of all prepaid auto stands with the Government halting trains, buses and other public transport vehicles, in a bid to check the spread of the virus. The prepaid auto stands near the Main Railway Station and at KSRTC Sub-Urban Bus Stand on B.N. Road were reopened after the Government relaxed COVID norms.

Subsequently, the prepaid auto service at Sub-Urban Bus Stand is functioning round-the-clock while the one at the City Railway Station functions only between 6 am and 9 pm. But with the huge rush of visitors and travellers due to Dasara holidays and also complaints of auto drivers fleecing the passengers arriving late night by trains, the City Police have extended the functioning of the Railway Station’s lone auto stand by two hours, with effect from  today (Oct.11).

However, the two other prepaid auto service points around the Railway Station are yet to reopen even after 18 months of closure as public mobility is yet to return to the levels that prevailed during the pre-COVID times, though train services to and fro from the city have returned to near normal. Meanwhile, the prepaid auto stand at KSRTC Sub-Urban Bus Stand, the only other one in the city as at present, continues to function throughout day and night, catering to passengers.