Over 80,000 auto rickshaw drivers have decided to stay off the roads from 6 am to 6 pm after talks over an increase in auto fare with the deputy commissioner failed.
Get ready for a difficult commute to work on Tuesday. Over 80,000 auto rickshaw drivers have decided to stay off the roads from 6 am to 6 pm after talks over an increase in auto fare with the deputy commissioner failed.
Also, public sector employees, including bank employees, factory workers, insurance companies, and contract labourers have called for a strike on Tuesday to draw the government’s attention to their demands.
G Kumar Naik, principal secretary, primary and secondary education, said on Monday that a holiday has not been declared by the state government. Autorickshaw drivers’ unions across the city have been demanding an increase in fares from November 2011 and have submitted memorandum to the deputy commissioner at least three times.
Expert committee set up
Union members said that during the meeting with the deputy commissioner of Monday, the official said he would set up an expert committee to study the demand for an increase in auto fares.
A decision would be taken only after the expert committee submits the report following consultation with other stakeholders.
The deputy commissioner sought one week’s time to complete this procedure and said a decision would be taken on March 8.
When asked why the auto rickshaw drivers decided to protest, considering that the proposal had been taken up by the deputy commissioner, Manjunath, president of Adarsha Auto Drivers’ Union, said: “There are two reasons. First, we have been submitting the memorandum to the deputy commissioner since November. Why wasn’t a decision taken till now? Second, although increasing the fares is one of our demands, it is not the only one."
He added, "Nevertheless, when we mentioned this to the deputy commissioner, he said the other demands have to be taken up by the government and he did not have a say in this matter. But despite writing to the chief minister and home minister, there has been no response.”
Raghavendra, general secretary, Auto Rickshaw Drivers’ Union (CITU), said: “We have demanded an increase in the minimum fares from Rs17 to Rs24 and the rate per kilometre to Rs12 from Rs9. Apart from this, we have also been demanding a welfare board to look after the needs of drivers and increase accident compensation from Rs50,000 to Rs1 lakh. We have submitted this demand to the government a number of times. Considering there has been no response, we have decided to protest to draw their attention.”
Manjunath said if the bandh did not bear fruit, an indefinite protest would be launched. With auto drivers deciding to stay off the roads on Tuesday, the BMTC is the only mode of transport for commuters who will be stranded in railway stations.
A BMTC statement said additional buses had been deployed to City railway station, Cantonment and Yeshwantpur railway stations.
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