Scores of autorickshaw drivers staged a protest on Wednesday at the Yeswanthpur and Rajajinagar Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) protesting against the lack of welfare schemes for them in the budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 12.
They now plan on taking out a protest march — Vidhana Soudha Chalo — from Majestic on August 14.
S. Nagaraj of the Autorichshaw Driver’s Union (CITU) said, “Even though we had presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister before the budget, none of our demands have been addressed.”
Some of their demands include a separate housing colony for auto drivers, besides provident fund, Employee State Insurance benefits.
They have also demanded Below Poverty Line cards for all autorickshaw drivers. “All auto drivers in the city are struggling to make ends meet. We are extremely upset that the State government has not paid any heed to our concerns,” Mr. Nagaraj said.
The drivers have also opposed the RTO’s decision to provide driving license to those with a minimum qualification. “A majority of autorickshaw drivers belong to poor economic backgrounds and have no formal education. Insisting on minimum qualification would deprive several people of a livelihood,” he added.
