Strike brings autorickshaws to a halt

Dr Baba Adhav,president of the Rickshaw Panchayat,declared the indefinite strike and said they would continue with the strike till their demand was not fulfilled by the administration. The Rickshaw Panchayat has also demanded that autorickshaw drivers be given the status of public servants and the administration should relax strict action against goods carriers for overloading.

Adhav and Rickshaw Panchayat members planned a rally from its Bhavani Peth office to the Pune police commissionerate to submit their demands. Around 12.15 pm,a team from Khadak police station led by inspector Ganpat Nikam went to the Rickshaw Panchayat office and told Adhav that he has not been given the permission for a rally. However,Adhav said the rally would be taken out as he had submitted a proper application seeking police permission. At this,police detained Adhav along with 33 autorickhshaw drivers. As the news of Adhav’s detention spread,autorickshaw drivers in the city stopped working. The police later released Adhav around 4 pm.

He then held a meeting of autorickshaw drivers in the evening and announced the indefinite strike. “Like the PMPML drivers,the autorickshaw drivers should also be given the status of public servants. If the government is giving pension to porters,autorickshaw drivers should also get it,” said Adhav. “The autorickshaw fares were reduced when the price of petrol went down. But as the petrol price has gone up,autorickshaw fares should also go up,” he said.

Meanwhile,people faced a tough time as the strike was announced without prior notice.