Jaipur, Feb 11 (IANS): Around 12,000 autorickshaws in the city will be fitted with global positioning system (GPS) to enable police track them down in case of emergencies or respond quickly if passengers, especially women, are harassed by auto drivers, officials said Monday.

A senior police officer told IANS that the need for keeping an eye on the city's pubic transport was felt after the gang-rape of a young physiotherapist in Delhi December last year.

"About 12,000 autorickshaws ply in the city every day. In the state government's traffic control board meeting held recently, it was decided that these autos should be enabled with GPS," he added.

"After the implementation of the project, we would be able to track down any auto running in the city. In case of an emergency, like a passenger being harassed, the GPS would enable us to respond quickly."

The project is likely to be implemented from the next month, the official added.

The route on which an auto can ferry passengers will be fixed and a control room will be set up to keep watch on their movements.

"Autos plying on a particular route will be painted in similar colours to differentiate them from those running on other routes," the official said.