Rural toto drivers protest area rule - Agitators claim Puja restriction was made permanent while autos violated order

Toto drivers protest near Balurghat railway station on Thursday. Picture by Mithun Roy

TT, Balurghat, Oct. 13: Around 50 toto drivers from the rural areas today demonstrated on Balurghat Station Road demanding withdrawal of an order that restricted them from plying vehicles in the civic areas.

The toto drivers claimed that the rule that was supposed to be followed during the Puja days was now made permanent by police and the administration and it would affect their income.

The protesters also said that there were no such restrictions for autos and the vehicles are allowed to ply across the town, unlike totos.

"We are facing a lot of problems since the new rule was introduced saying that rural totos would not enter town. Surprisingly, there is no such restriction for auto drivers. They are carrying passengers both inside and outside the town and violating the traffic norm of carrying not more than three passengers at a time," said toto driver Subrato Paul.

The protesters said most autos carry 10-12 passengers at once.

Earlier this month, police had started conducting raids to stop totos of the rural areas from plying in Balurghat town to control the increasing traffic congestion during the Pujas. Totos had been painted in different colours to help identify their area of plying.

While blue coloured totos were supposed to run in Balurghat town, green ones were meant for the rural areas.

Toto driver Utpal Paul said: "We had purchased totos on loans and we need to repay the amount within a stipulated period of time. Initially, we were told that the new rule would be imposed from October 6 to 10 but now, the police are saying it would continue. That means, it is a threat to our livelihood. We want the restrictions lifted."

Today, the agitation that started around 10am soon after the Gour Link Express reached Balurghat station continued for about an hour leading to traffic snarl.

The demonstration was lifted after police arrival.

The inspector in charge of Balurghat police station, Sanjay Ghosh, said totos meant for rural areas would not be allowed in town. "There are 600-odd blue totos which cause traffic congestion and we will not entertain any rural toto in the Balurghat civic area. Action will be taken against rural toto drivers who flout the guidelines," he said.

The police had earlier said that checkpoints had been set up to keep tabs on the totos.

Durjoy Das, who drives an auto, said they were ready to follow any rule laid down by the police and administration.

"The autos here are big. The rule to ferry three passengers at a time is for small autos. Our autos can carry eight passengers at once. But if we are asked to follow certain rules, we would do so," he said.

In June this year, the South Dinajpur district administration had imposed a complete ban on totos plying along NH512 because of increasing traffic congestion on the highway.

But totos are often seen ferrying passengers on the highway.