Autos back to work today

More than 80 per cent of the city’s 55,000 auto-rickshaws kept off the streets on Tuesday, frustrating commuters for the second day in a row.

More than 80 per cent of the city’s 55,000 auto-rickshaws kept off the streets on Tuesday, frustrating commuters for the second day in a row.

HT Image

But there was good news at the end of the day.

The auto-rickshaw unions stuck to their decision of a two-day strike, saying they’d resume work on Wednesday. This happened even as the government refused to accept their demands.

Talking tough, transport minister Arvinder S. Lovely threatened to cancel permits, impound vehicles if the unions decided to continue their stir or go on strike unannounced in future.

But Ram Sharan Rajput, president of Rashtriya Rajdhani Kshetra Tipahiya Chalak Union, said they would sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar on August 31 and September 1. He threatened to follow it up with a fast-unto-death and a complete strike if the government did not yield.

There were reports of stray violence against auto-rickshaws ferrying passengers in east Delhi. “Our enforcement teams impounded over 150 auto-rickshaws that either refused passengers or prevented those who wanted to,” Lovely said.