Aamir Khan has come up with a unique marketing strategy for 3 Idiots. He has printed stickers for autorickshaws that say ‘Capacity: 3 Idiots’. The rickshaws have been introduced in the city and are plying in both central and western suburbs.

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Not many would consider Wagner for a long drive. Nor would they drive around in Chennai’s nasty August heat in Ferrari jerkins. But then Paul Haran is not your average driver. And he isn’t on just another drive. Haran and friend Mark Hanscomb, who goes by Harry, form team Nigel Manzil, one of 13 participating in the third annual auto rickshaw rally from Chennai to Mumbai.

The rally, promoted by Chennai Event Management Services (CEMS) and Round Table India, features 27 participants, who have ambitions of covering the 1,900 km stretch via Vellore, Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Bhatkal, Panaji, Ratnagiri, Mahabaleshwar, Pune and Alibagh, in less than two weeks.

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Briton Paul Haran wore his radiant red Ferrari suit, put on his racing gloves, took his road map and jumped into ‘Nigel Manzil,’ one of the 13 colourful autorickshaws that accelerated their way towards the roads of one of the most rugged terrains in India. The third annual Mumbai Xpress Rickshaw Challenge, which flagged off from Queen Mary’s College in Mylapore recently is a unique rally, with adventurous travellers from around the globe piling their wacky auto rickshaws for an action packed (around 2,000 km) journey to Mumbai.

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The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) will meet this week to give a push to its proposal of providing pension to autorickshaw drivers in the city, which it has forwarded to the state government before the assembly polls.

In an attempt to provide some relief to autorickshaw drivers in the city, the RTA had recently taken a decision to provide pension to licensed autorickshaw drivers who are above 55. With this, nearly 60,000 licensed autorickshaw owners or drivers will be able to enjoy the benefit of a pension. This scheme will also address the concerns of the licensed autorickshaw owners/drivers in Solapur.

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Finally, the municipal corporation is all set to launch battery-operated rickshaws in the City Beautiful, as pullers for these have been finalised.

Though MC has 10 solar-cum-battery-operated rickshaws in its fleet, only six pullers have qualified civic body’s set guidelines.

Notably, MC’s eco-friendly move of introducing solar or battery-operated rickshaws had hit a roadblock as despite a number of applications, there was hardly any applicant who fulfilled the set criteria.

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Policemen on duty at the Park Circus seven-point crossing on Thursday morning had a tough time tackling LPG autorickshaw operators who blocked the crossing, placing their vehicles in a row. The protest was prompted by the irregular supply of LPG in fuel stations, for which the the operators incur loss of time and money.

The dearth of supply has also led to rampant use of subsidised domestic LPG in auto-rickshaws.In accordance with the Calcutta High Court order, no two-stroke, non-LPG auto can ply in the city. Accordingly, the state government formulated a package which offered Rs 10,000 discounts on the price of the autos.

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The polluting two-stroke autorickshaws banned from the streets of the metropolis by the Calcutta High Court, have quietly begun running in the suburbs after being repainted green and yellow to resemble LPG-run three-wheelers.

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The Karnataka on Tuesday said a subsidy of Rs. 10,000 will be offered to autorickshaw owners for replacement of their two-stroke autorickshaws with four-stroke engines. All new autorickshaws having four-stroke engines in the State will be registered from now onwards.

Green autos are fitted with four stroke engines and run on LPG.A total of 800 green autorickshaws have been registered in the city so far.

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Pic of the week is Life is an Auto Rickshaw

Pic of the week is the Bling-bling Rickshaw