Colour codes fixed to curb e-rickshaw chaos in city

Indore: The city's e-rickshaws will soon need to stay within fixed zones and carry colour-coded roofs, as Indore traffic police on Monday rolled out a sector-based regulation plan to tackle growing congestion and the disorder that the three-wheelers have added to city roads.Under the new ‘Sector System', the city has been divided into four zones. Every e-rickshaw will be assigned a roof colour matching the zone it is permitted to operate in — blue for Zone 1 covering the traffic west area, yellow for Zone 2 and red for Zone 3, both falling under traffic east and white for Zone 4 under traffic west. An e-rickshaw seen outside its designated zone will be treated as a violation.Officials claim this will help in providing dedicated routes to the e-rickshaws and about traffic congestion on main roads — often leading to accidents.DCP (Traffic) Rajesh Kumar Tripathi, who announced the plan, said registration and zone allocation will be completed within 10 days. After the window closes, unregistered vehicles and those found operating outside their zones will face challans and legal action.The police have made it mandatory for all e-rickshaws to remain open at the rear, keeping the interior visible at all times.Of roughly 10,500 e-rickshaws currently plying in the city, only 5,000 are fully registered. The remaining vehicles, many without proper documentation, are among the key reasons the plan has been drawn up.To obtain a zone permit, owners must produce valid insurance, road tax, vehicle registration, and a permit. Zone allocation will follow a first-come, first-served basis. "Drivers who complete their registration earliest will have the opportunity to choose their preferred routes," DCP Tripathi said. However, the police said they will maintain an equal distribution of vehicles across all four zones to prevent any single area from being overburdened.E-rickshaw Association president Rajesh Bidkar, who attended the meeting along with senior traffic officials and monitoring committee member Sharad Naik, assured full cooperation and said the association was committed to making "the city's traffic management more disciplined."