Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SHP)
Mumbai, Jul 8: According to the union leaders, from Monday midnight, auto rickshaw drivers will carry out an indefinite strike across Maharashtra. Over 4 lac drivers will be voluntarily going on strike. This strike is said to significantly hit the commuters who hire autos more often in monsoons than they would do the rest of the year.
The union has called the strike to ban cab services of Ola and Uber, elimination of illegal autos by the Police and for the hike in fares.
Earlier in the month of June, a notice regarding a strike was submitted by the union. Unfortunately not much heed was paid to the notice. The leader of the Autorickshaw Chalak Malak Sanghatana Sanyukt Kruti Samiti, Shashank Rao, stated that strike would include drivers from Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Aurangabad and other parts of state. According to him, this would exhibit their unity and the strength of all the drivers.
Further, Rao expressed his disappointment towards government for not being proactive enough to negotiate with the union regarding the demands of the auto rickshaw drivers. He was upset that there was no response for over a month to the memorandums, notices and repeated reminders sent by the union. Therefore, the government will be the reason for the distress faced by the public because of the strike.