Will you take autorickshaw tomorrow, Mumbai?

Will you take an autorickshaw tomorrow? There are some who hope not. “The Mumbai Autorickshaw Commuter Association (MACA) is keeping its fingers crossed as it expecting hundreds of citizens to participate in its campaign to boycott autos this Sunday.“We are protesting against errant drivers as well as the strong arm tactics of the auto unions. To go on indefinite strike from 9 November,” said a MACA member, reports Times of India. [caption id=“attachment_118997” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Image from Wikimedia”]  [/caption] While on autorickshaws, the electronic meters proposed by the Maharashtra CM may be a distant dream. The rickshaw unions are reportedin the Hindustan Times saying, “The electronic meter itself is not tamper-proof. The state claims that the e-meter is tamper-proof. Auto unions beg to differ. Thampy Kurien, general secretary of the Mumbai Rickshawmen’s Union, said: “E-meters work on the pulses it receives from the engine. Even if you don’t tamper the e-meter, there are ways to induce pulse in this meter from outside. The Supreme Court, while giving directions about introducing new technology for meters, has said that it should be tamper-proof.” Any department can propose, but the CM needs to dispose. “The Dharavi makeover plan is yet to take off. Five months after the state government appointed Mhada to develop the first among five sector of the 212-hectare slum area, the redevelopment plan is yet to be set in motion. Senior Mhada officials and sources in the state housing department said that certain amendments that require to be introduced to the development control regulations ( DCR) for facilitating the work had caused the delay.A proposal for introduction of these amendments is currently pending with the chief minister’s Prithviraj Chavan’s office,” says the Times of India. Maharashtra is not a great place to live in when it comes to accidents. “According to the statistics released on Thursday, a total of 3,84,649 accidental deaths have been reported last year with Maharashtra accounting for 9.3 per cent of country’s population has reported almost one sixth (16.7 per cent) of accidental deaths due to unnatural causes,” reports DNA. As the war of words between Sanjay Nirupam and the Thackerays escalated, RR Patil has threatened to take action against both for inciting hatred. NDTV’s created a slide show that might help Mr. Patil. “The 10 most controversial things the Thackerays have said recently  includes such gems as this one. “This is not the first time I am travelling by train. I used to take trains during my college days some 25 years ago. But now the crowd is increasing like anything, and the outsiders coming to the city are responsible for this burden on the infrastructure,” Raj Thackeray said in January 2010.