HYDERABAD: Hundreds of auto-rickshaw drivers, along with trade unions such as AITUC, Auto Owners Association, BRTU and CITU staged a mass protest at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park on Tuesday. The unions alleged that their livelihood has been severely impacted since the launch of the government’s Mahalakshmi Scheme, which offers free bus rides for women, diminishing their customer base. The drivers demanded Rs 15,000 per month from the government to compensate for their losses.
The unions also complained about three-wheelers registered in other districts operating in Hyderabad without permission. Satthi Reddy, general secretary, Telangana Auto-Drivers Samakhya (TADS), told TNIE: “Due to restrictions on buying new autos in the city, drivers are purchasing vehicles in other districts and running them within GHMC limits”.
The drivers called for permits to buy at least 20,000 new autos within the GHMC limits. “There is a need to control private financiers as they are exploiting by overcharging,” Reddy alleged.
They also reiterated their long-standing demand for an Auto-Motor Transport Workers Welfare Board, compensation of Rs 10 lakh for families of drivers who have dies by suicide,and a ban on the two-wheelers operated by aggregator apps like Ola, Uber, Rapido and others.
Additional demands included a hike in auto-metre charges (both base price and per kilometre), scrapping the Central Vehicle Motor (CMV) Act 2019, pension for drivers over 50, government coverage of third-party insurance premiums, and an increase in accidental insurance coverage to Rs 10 lakh, also extending to the families of deceased drivers.
The protesters also sought the implementation of a single-permit policy, a promise made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Telangana Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, taking part in the protest, BRS working president KT Rama Rao criticised the Congress government, claiming that auto-drivers once earned Rs 2,000 per day under the BRS rule but now make only a few hundreds rupees.
He accused the government of creating situations that have driven auto-drivers to suicide and urged the government to fulfill irs pre-election promise, including Rs 1,000 per month for drivers and establishment of a welfare board in the next Assembly session.