Ola, Uber drivers in Indore on strike against assault by auto drivers
Ola and Uber cab drivers went on a flash strike in Indore on Wednesday to protest against the high handedness of autorickshaw drivers who kept off the road a day before.
Ola and Uber cab drivers went on a flash strike in Indore on Wednesday to protest against the high handedness of autorickshaw drivers who kept off the road a day before.
Around 300 cab drivers submitted a memorandum to the collector in this regard. They also met the sub-divisional magistrate to apprise him about the ‘misbehaviour’ of auto-rickshaw drivers.
“A number of incidents were reported. In some cases, FIRs were lodged at the police stations in Khajrana and Annapurna,” said Surendra Pal, driver with Ola.
The cab drivers alleged that auto-rickshaw drivers misbehaved with them and passengers. Some of them claimed taxis were damaged by angry auto-rickshaw drivers.
“In some incidents, the drivers went ballistic to stop passengers from boarding our cabs. They picked up fights with our staff…,” entrepreneur and owner of ‘E-cabs’ Suresh Panwar said. Panwar’s firm provides cabs to both Uber and Ola.
Though the drivers received assurances from the administration that action will be taken in individual cases, some drivers were far from satisfied. “We have been complaining about the behaviour of auto-rickshaw drivers. Most of them charge customers according to their whims and fancies. They then blame us for violating RTO rules,” cab driver Ravi Pal said.
A ban on mobile-based cab aggregators will be a wrong move as many drivers spent money to get themselves enlisted for services, he added.