Ahmedabad: Thousands of auto-rickshaws in Ahmedabad and other cities of Gujarat stayed off the roads as they began a 36-hour strike on Monday to press for a rollback of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) prices and other demands. Still, the response to the strike was mixed as many rickshaw unions decided not to participate.
According to claims, an estimated 15 lakh auto-rickshaw drivers in the state would participate in the 36-hour strike starting from midnight of November 15 to 12:00 pm on November 16. Besides demanding a rollback of CNG prices, which have been hiked by 3-4 times since October, rickshaw drivers want the state government to pay Rs. 15,000 relief to them as given by some other states and an end on police atrocities on them.
“Our 36-hour protest will be peaceful and non-violent. We will call off the protest if the government gives a positive response to our three demands,” according to a body representing the auto-rickshaw drivers.
The strike comes amid up to 30% increase in CNG prices since October and despite the hike in auto-rickshaw fares by the government earlier this month. The minimum fare was increased from Rs. 15 to Rs. 18, and the charge for every subsequent km from Rs. 10 to Rs. 13. The waiting fare was increased from Re. 1 per five minutes to Re. 1 per minute.
However, the response to the strike was mixed as some rickshaw unions, including the one at Ahmedabad railway station, decided against joining the strike saying the government had already met the demand for a fare hike.