After cracking the
whip on autowallahs tampering meters to collect extra fare from
unsuspecting customers, Legal Metrology officials will now take to task
digital auto meter manufactures, who have failed to supply tamper-proof
meters as per guidelines. This comes in the wake of findings in
the lab testing centre that most digital meters were manufactured with
poor installed software which could be easily tampered by auto drivers
using television remote controls. “It was revealed in the testing
centre that most auto drivers tampered their digital meters using a TV
remote. Even after stamping various sensitive locations of digital
meters as per the Legal Metrology Act, auto drivers were involved in
illegally tampering them. We started investigating into the
manufacturing quality of digital meters and found most had poorly
installed software. We are going to initiate necessary action against
manufacturers,” said PSRNT Swamy, assistant controller, Legal Metrology
department. He said they had registered as many as 895 cases against
auto drivers involved in duping customers and collecting extra fare. Nine
manufacturing companies, Right, which supplies at least 22,000 digital
meters, Gold Tech- 15,000 meters, Perfect- 5,000, Standard- 5,000,
Super- 7,000, Sansui- 8,000, Dolphin- 500, Smart- 800 and Digifare- 900
meters, supply all digital meters in the city. “In the testing centre it
was revealed that most digital meters manufactured by Right and Gold
Tech companies were tampered mechanically and could be controlled by a
remote,” Swamy said. The Legal Metrology department has therefore
decided to initiate action against the manufacturers as per suggestions
finalised in a meeting between the department and manufacturers on 15
conditions of supplying tamper-proof meters. The conditions had been
signed by manufacturers in presence of Ch Moulali, director, Regional
Reference Standard Laboratories (RRSL), Bangalore and the then
controller of Legal Metrology, RP Meena in 2006.
By Mouli Mareedu
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