Autorickshaw strike turns violent in Ahmedabad

The autorickshaw strike called on Monday turned violent as protestors vandalised 11 ATMS buses and five autorickshaws, besides forcing passengers out of vehicles. The autorickshaw drivers who had called the strike were protesting against alleged harassment by traffic police officials. Their other demands include more autorickshaw stands in the city.

The protests got violent near Kalupur Railway station, where agitators reportedly stopped autorickshaws, which were plying despite the strike. The autorickshaw drivers who were working were forced to stop their vehicles and the passengers were asked to alight. As many as three AMTS buses were vandalised by protestors, who broke windows of the vehicles. Apart from that, five autorickshaw drivers who had taken out their vehicles were beaten up by protestors for defying the strike.

Similar incidents of violence were reported in Sarangpur, Saraspur, Maninagar, Geetamandir, Bapunagar and Shahibuag. Daily commuters faced difficulty on Monday as autorickshaws were not found in several areas such as bus stands and railway stations. Several AMTS buses were purportedly vandalised In Sarangpur, Saraspur, Bapunagar and Shahibaug. Protestors also stopped private cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber and forced passengers to alight midway in Maninagar. At Geeta Mandir, protestors blocked roads with their vehicles and created a traffic jam. Later, police officials reached the spot and took control of the situation.

For the past one week, traffic cops have been cracking down on offenders found parking illegally, following an order by the high court. During the drive, as many as 4,500 autorickshaws were detained by the cops. According to autorickshaw drivers, there are around 2 lakh autorickshaws in the city, while there is parking space for only 2,500 autorickshaws.

Strike hits commuters

There were only a few autorickshaws plying on the road in the morning. Even they were stopped by protestors later in the day. Commuters around railway stations and bus stands were worst affected with limited options to get to their destinations. At some places, protestors stopped cabs as well. Several autorickshaw drivers who had defied the strike were beaten up by angry protestors, and passengers were left stranded midway to their destination. People who took AMTS buses faced problems as well, after 11 buses were blocked and vandalised by protestors and passengers were left on the road with few to no options.

Senior cops pressed into action

After the protest got violent and reports of vandalism started pouring in, all 49 police stations in the city were mobilised and officials deployed in the affected areas. Apart from that, DCP, ACP and PI-level officers were pressed into action and asked to carry out patrolling in their respected areas till the situation normalized.

Vijay Patel, DCP (Control room), said: "Till now, there have been two cases lodged with the Shaherkodta and Shahibaug police station against anti-social elements and investigation regarding the matter is on. Apart from that, two accused have been detained by Vastrapur police in the matter and further investigation is underway."

The police said they would recover CCTV footage from areas where incidents of violence were reported to identify offenders. They said strict action would be taken against people involved in vandalism of public property.