Commuters in Delhi had a tough time on Tuesday as autos and taxis were on an indefinite strike against app-based taxi services like Uber and Ola.
However, the Delhi Government deployed 300 additional buses from railway stations and ISBTs to rescue stranded commuters.
Meanwhile, calling the strike as “BJP sponsored”, Transport Minister Satyendar Jain said most auto drivers want to drive their autos but are being forced to park their vehicles due to pressure from some “unruly elements”. He also blamed the Delhi Police for not providing security to auto drivers who were willing to ply their vehicles
Commuters were left stranded at various places, including railway stations, ISBTs, airport and metro stations due to the strike called by Joint Action Committee formed by 20 auto and taxis (yellow-black) unions.
The Committee claimed about 85,000 auto-rickshaws and 15,000 yellow-black taxis went off roads due to the strike. Around 10 members of the JAC will also sit on a hunger strike outside the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there were reports of over-charging by autorickshaws that kept plying on the roads defying the strike call. Shobha Gupta, a resident of Sheikh Sarai, complained that auto rickshaws were charging twice or thrice the fare.
“To travel from Shekh Sarai to Adhchini, I had to pay Rs 150. Normally, the fare comes to hardly Rs 60 to 70,” she said.
At New Delhi Railway station, some drivers were spotted preventing a taxi from ferrying a passenger. Some protesters were seen indulging in such practice at places like railway and metro stations.
At INA metro station, the autos that normally charge Rs 10 per person to ferry passengers to Sarojini Nagar Market, were seen charging at least Rs 20 per person.
“We are plying our autos at the risk of getting our wind-screens shattered by the protesters. So we have to charge more,” said an auto driver. It seemed that all the auto-drivers outside the metro station had an understanding on the fare thereby leaving no option for commuters.
Rajendra Soni, general secretary of Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, said the strike will continue till the city Government takes strict action against Ola and Uber.
“The operations of Uber and Ola are illegal as they don’t have permits to run their taxis in Delhi but despite that the Government is allowing them to take away our livelihoods. The Government has assured us on several occasions to take action against these services but so far they have not,” said Soni.
Kishan Verma, president of All Delhi Auto-Taxi Transport Congress Union (ADATTCU), said drivers of yellow-black taxis and auto-rickshaws have been asked not to ply their vehicles on Wednesday as well.
The DTC said, “All regional and depot managers are on line in their respective regions to ensure smooth operation of buses in Delhi and NCR.” It has also issued a toll free number (1800118181) for any kind of enquiry regarding DTC buses.