 "Auto-drivers on strike against cab aggregators; Mumbai hit hard")
The day-long statewide strike called by the Mumbai Autorickshaw-Taximen's Union (MAU), the largest auto union in the city, began from midnight here demanding ouster of call center-operated Uber and Ola cabs besides revocation of Maharashtra government's decision to scrap the Hakim panel on auto and taxi fares.
The Union has appealed to 15 lakh autorickshaw men across the state to join the stir, which may hit lakhs of commuters as it claims to have 95% of the auto owners under its wing.
This is the second time in two days that Mumbai commuters have been hit after Tuesday's strike by a section of taxi-drivers union led by Nitesh Rane.
Wednesday's strike saw many people either walking down to the nearest railway stations, awaiting the overcrowded BEST or ST buses, using private vehicles or two-wheelers.
Braving rains in many parts, passengers at the airport here as well as at the rail terminals in various places in the city had a harrowing time.
Meanwhile, office of the Transport Commissioner has taken slew of precautionary measures to subdue the impact of the auto strike.
"Apart from allowing private vehicles on the roads for the day, we have also spoken to senior Mumbai police officers who would be keeping vigil over Law and Order situation," Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Sonia Sethi told PTI.
"We have also lined up with BEST and MSRTC buses which would be running extra services to serve the needy people. Also, we have discussed most issues with unions and have addressed many of them while pending issues are being looked into at priority level," she said.
The strike, in which Shiv Sena and the taxi-men's unions are not taking part, led to a spurt in demand for various private and radio taxi services. Ironically, one of demands of the autorickshaw drivers is the a ban on these radio taxis.
Another union called the Mumbai Rickshawmen's Union is not supporting the strike and has demanded proper security for those who would be plying their rickshaws today.
"I put forward our demands to transport officials and they seemed attentive to address our issues, so we did not want to cause further trouble to people in the city considering that schools have recently opened," said Thumpi Kurian, another leader of Mumbai Rickshawmens Union who claims to have got almost 7,000 auto owners under its fleet.
Mumbai Autorickshawmens Union chief Shashank Rao said the government is responsible for the inconvenience to the citizens and it is now a matter of the autorickshawmen's survival.
"The Transport Minister could have first discussed the issue with us before scrapping the Hakim panel which framed the tariff hike formula for auto and taxi fares," Rao said.
He added, "Private taxis, tourist vehicles and call centre cars ferry people to various areas in the suburbs, hitting us badly. Besides, other cabs like Ola and Uber ply beyond their jurisdiction affecting us."
He warned of more such agitations in future if the government fails to accede to their demands.
Transport Minister Diwakar Raote said that the government has taken note of their demands and they would consider them.
Besides, the other demands are a social welfare scheme for autorickawmen, status of 'public servant' to them, issuing rickshaw permits quickly to those on waiting lists and so on.
Meanwhile, the BEST had deployed additional services on major routes, the state transport has diverted 100 buses for the city and private taxis have also increased their operations to tackle the commuters rush.