MUMBAI: The govt’s push to enforce Marathi proficiency among auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers is beginning to have visible consequences, with a section of drivers dodging RTO checks at key locations. The move has altered commuting patterns and affected the availability of autos and taxis, inconveniencing hundreds of daily commuters.Mumbai Rickshawmen’s Union leader Thampy Kurien told TOI that a group of drivers is planning to approach the high court, challenging the one-month show-cause notice issued to them “without first putting in place adequate training infrastructure for working knowledge of Marathi”.To avoid inspections and on-road Marathi tests, many drivers are changing their operating routes. Since RTO checks are often conducted near railway stations, malls, prominent auto-taxi stands and commercial centres, drivers are increasingly opting for internal roads and residential areas, where the likelihood of checks is lower.Informal WhatsApp groups have become an important tool for drivers tracking enforcement activity. An auto union activist said messages warning members about ongoing checking drives and locations to avoid were being circulated frequently. Some drivers have even started refusing passengers headed towards areas near inspection points.“We have come to know that some of the drivers have temporarily withdrawn from service, with some parking their vehicles and others taking their autos out of MMR,” Kurien said. “This has resulted in a slight shortage of autos and taxis in certain pockets of Mumbai.”Transport ministry officials said “adequate training in functional Marathi skills” was imparted for 105 days by literary groups across the state. However, some drivers served notices said they were being asked to comply with a requirement for which sufficient learning facilities were not yet available.A senior transport official said the govt’s training facilities had now stopped. “These drivers will now have to make their own arrangements for Marathi tutorials — whether offline or online,” the official said. The group of drivers is consequently consulting a senior counsel and plans to move court.More than 2,500 such notices have been issued across the state in the past four days. Union representatives claim that even many drivers who completed the courses continue to struggle with conversational Marathi, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing programmes.
