HYDERABAD, Dec 3: The Hyderabad district council on Monday called for closing down or putting checks on the mushrooming rent-a-motorcycle business in the city and held it responsible for growing trend of one-wheeling among underage and teenaged boys.

Mohammad Yusuf Mukhtar, council member, tabled the resolution and the convener Zafar Ali Rajput deferred it to next session on Dec 6 to discuss it in the presence of traffic policemen.

The council was unanimous in their opinion that motorcycle riders who drove their vehicles in acrobatic styles often harassed peaceful pedestrians and families. If the police did not stop the annoying practice underage motorcyclists would continue to make life miserable for others, the members said.

Q. Mohammad Hakim called upon police to take preventive measures and affix traffic signs along the roads to guide motorcyclists and motorists to be able to take action against law breakers.

“It has become a fashion now. The pedestrians usually avoid walking on the roadside,” he said.

He stressed that ‘sifarish culture’ should be discouraged and no pressure should be accepted from the relatives of the violators of law after one had been arrested for one-wheeling.

“It is DPO’s responsibility to fix speed limits in the city so that violators can be nabbed easily. Awareness should be created among youth in colleges about risks involved in one-wheeling,” he suggested.

Hussain Bux Hussaini remarked: “We are afraid of taking motorcycles to roads with families because police don’t take any action against reckless drivers.” Police’s motor vehicle department did not check vehicles properly, he said.

Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan and others supported the resolution stressing that it should be made binding on the SHOs to check the shops engaged in rent-a-bike business in their jurisdiction.

Parveen Lodhi said that bike riders drove bikes like stuntmen and the police took illegal gratification from the shopkeepers who were providing bikeson rent. These underage youths did not have any licenses or documents, she said.

Dr. Arif Razmi and Munawar Zai supported demand for putting in place certain rules and regulations to check the rent-a-bike business and said that at present there was no check on running rent-a-bike business. Anybody could invest huge money in the business without legal cover, they said.

The convener referred Rozina Fasahat’s resolution to taluka municipal administration (TMA) of Tandojam. She complained that Karimabad and Muzafarabad localities of Tandojam lacked a proper sewerage system but no one paid any heed to the residents’ problem.

The council referred a resolution tabled by Yusuf Mukhtar about Gul Shah Colony of UC-13 to law committee because it involved Auqaf department.