The Hindu

Mangalore, Oct 30: Mangaloreans do not seem to be keen on getting the sunscreens of their cars removed, though District Superintendent of Police N. Sathish Kumar has set a deadline of October 31 in this connection.

With only 24 hours to go, business establishments that undertake work to remove sunscreens, reported only a few or no customers who wished to obey the new rule.

Car Accessory in Valencia, and Style, another automobile accessory dealer in Falnir, had none asking for this service till Monday. Car Décor, another automobile accessory shop in Falnir, however, had just five people who came forward to get the sunscreens removed from their vehicles. A person in a car accessory shop expected people to turn out in large numbers on Tuesday.

A car owner, who did not want to reveal his identity, said sunscreens gave privacy to the passengers and did not see a reason why he should remove it. "Everybody needs privacy," he said and added that women driving alone found it safer with sunscreens.

Khaddar from Puttur who was in Mangalore in a car with tinted glasses points out that people used to sunscreens in their vehicles to protect themselves from the harsh summer sun. "When one travels to far away places, one will know how difficult it is to bear the heat. Tint (sunscreen) protects us from it," he said. Ashraf from Mangalore said, "If the car is tinted, air conditioning happens faster."

For Kenneth, a student from Mangalore, sunscreen for a car makes a fashion statement. "It makes contrast with the colour of the car.”