Auto unions withdraw strike after Transport minister promises action

The unions,however,threatened to go on an indefinite strike if the government did not revise the fare structure by Tuesday in the wake of steep rise in price of CNG.

Sources in the Transport department said a report submitted by an expert committee on the issue will be tabled at the Cabinet meeting on Monday,which will take a final decision on the issue.

They said there may be 35 to 40 per cent fare hike for autos and taxis in the national capital. Three different proposals have made made. One is that the minimum rate will be set at Rs 15 and Rs 8 for every subsequent km,while the other one is that the base fare will set at Rs 20 and Rs 6.50 for every subsequent km.

Lovely and Transport Commissioner R K Verma met representatives of several autorickshaw unions on Friday,including the Delhi Autorickshaw Chalak Sangha and Rashtravadi Janta Tipahiya Chalak Mahasangh,and discussed with them their demands.

The autorickshaw unions in the Capital have been demanding a revision in fare structure for the past couple of months and have stepped up pressure ever since the Centre decided to raise the CNG prices across the country.

“We have decided to withdraw the strike on Monday. The Transport minister has assured us that the Cabinet will decide about the fare hike on Monday and that the decision will come into effect after two days,” Rajendra Soni,general secretary of the Delhi Autorickshaw Chalak Sangha,said.

“He has promised us… so we will run autos on Monday,” he said.

Soni,however,said autorickshaw drivers will go on an indefinite strike from Wednesday if the government does not announce any decision by Tuesday.

The unions had yesterday announced they would go on an indefinite strike after the Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) increased CNG prices by over 25 per cent.