TIRUCHY: LPG autorickshaw drivers in Tiruchy have said that they are seeing a 40-50% decline in daily earnings over the past one month, owing to the war in the Gulf and the resultant disruption in fuel supply.
This, they added, has been compounded by the annual summer slowdown in passenger demand due to school and college holidays. While some of them are switching to CNG mode, those using hybrid autos are relatively less affected.
V Marimuthu, an autorickshaw driver operating near the Tiruchy railway station, said, “I used to earn around Rs 1,000-Rs 1,200 a day. Now it has come down to Rs 500-Rs 600. I cannot increase fare because many drivers are switching to diesel, CNG, or hybrid vehicles, making competition tougher.”
Another driver, T Natarajan from Palakarai, has already shifted strategies to cope with the situation. “I converted my LPG auto to CNG, as I feel this issue may not be resolved soon. I own three autos, but I have stopped leasing out the LPG vehicle as it is no longer profitable after paying the driver. Managing with the remaining vehicles has become difficult,” he said.
Natarajan pointed at the steep rise in LPG prices as a major concern. “Two months ago, LPG cost around Rs 65 a litre. Now, government-run filling stations such as those operated by Indian Oil Corporation charge about Rs 85, while private stations charge nearly Rs 100. If government stations run out of stock, which happens frequently, we are forced to rely on private outlets. That is unaffordable.”
According to L Palaniappan, treasurer of CITU auto drivers’ union, the shortage has severely disrupted daily operations. “Out of seven LPG filling stations within the city limits and three in suburban areas, only two in the city are functioning on alternate days.
Often, fuel supplies arrive late at night, forcing drivers to queue up at 11 pm or even 1 am. More than 15 drivers from the association have switched to CNG mode, while those using hybrid autos are relatively less affected.”
The situation has been worsened by the closure of multiple private LPG outlets, impacting an estimated 1,000 autorickshaw drivers out of 5,000 registered drivers in the city, according to the CITU association.
“Many now spend one to two hours waiting in queues for refuelling in suburban areas every alternate day, significantly reducing their working time,” Palaniappan added.
Offering hope to the drivers, A Saravanan, a dealer associated with Bharat Petroleum, said the supply situation has recently shown signs of improvement. “Over the past 10 days, supply has stabilised to some extent, though there have been disruptions again in the last two days.
The situation is better than before, and we expect it to normalise soon,” he said. However, he acknowledged the financial strain on drivers.