CHENNAI: In 2008, Purushothaman used to ferry foreign tourists arriving at the International Airport at Meenambakkam to various destinations of their choice in the city. On the last day of their sojourn, he would drop them back at the airport on his tourist-friendly auto rickshaw.Four years down the line, he continues in the same profession, albeit with a difference - Purushothaman has now switched over to a taxi. "It's three months since I became a cabbie,” he says.Lack of support from the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) to promote the tourist-friendly three wheelers has forced several drivers like Purushothaman to bid adieu to tourist-friendly autos.According to sources, hardly 25 auto rickshaw drivers of the earlier 113, are still keeping the facility alive in the city, while a majority of them are operating those three-wheelers as regular autos, while some have switched over to other professions.Touted as the first-of-its-kind in the country, tourist-friendly auto rickshaws were launched in December 2007. These three-wheelers sport a different colour, with the 'Enchanting Tamil Nadu' sticker on the windshield.With these auto rickshaws becoming a hit among tourists and other visitors as well, this service was extended to the rest of the State. Interestingly, the drivers also doubled up as tourist guides. Initially, the TTDC authorities used to organise frequent refreshment courses for the tourist-friendly auto drivers, arrange parking space for them and permission to enter the harbour to receive tourists and even medical assistance for the drivers. However, almost everything has come to an end of late, alleged a tourist-friendly auto driver.Asked whether he was still plying his auto rickshaw with the tourist-friendly motto, another driver, Elumalai, spotted near a star hotel on Thyagarayar Salai said the scenario had changed. "We can no longer be tourist-friendly as we can't depend only on tourists anymore," he said.TTDC officials were not available for comment.
Comments
0 comment