Rickshaws not to go on strike

SURAT, May 3: Deciding not to go ahead with an indefinite strike for the second time in a fortnight, auto-rickshaw unions said at a meeting here on Monday evening that union leaders will instead sit on a dharna on Tuesday. They reiterated their demand that rickshaws be allowed to choose whether or not to ply by meter.

The stand taken by the unions on Monday is distinctly different from their earlier stand. On Saturday they had issued an ultimatum to the police to stop forcing rickshaws to ply by meter only.

The second phase of agitation by the rickshaw unions started on a mild note with leaders washing Mahatma Gandhi’s statue’s feet at Chowk Bazaar today. Surat Autorickshaw Mandal president Mahesh Master, along with other union presidents washed the statue with milk and decided to resort to a peaceful agitation.