More than half of the over 55,000 autorickshaws went off the roads today causing severe inconvenience to commuters across the city as unions went on a strike against Delhi government’s decision to make installation of GPS system mandatory in their vehicles.
As commuters faced harrowing time, Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely warned the autorickshaw owners of strong punitive action, including cancellation of permits, if the strike was not called off.
“We will take strong punitive action against those autorickshaw owners if they do not resume their service,” Mr. Lovely said.
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The strike mostly affected office-goers as people had to wait for buses or look for other modes of transportation to reach their destinations.
“I really struggled to find an auto. Though many autos were there at the auto stand, no one was willing to ply. Government did not take any measure to ensure that the autos ply,” said Prakash Singh, a sales executive from Laxmi Nagar who works in a private company in Connaught Place.
At a meeting with auto unions’ yesterday, Lovely had decided to introduce a scheme under which an autorickshaw owner will have to shell out Rs. 625 as monthly instalment for one year as cost of the GPS system. After the meeting the Minister had claimed that the unions have agreed to install GPS system and call off the strike.
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But contrary to claim, all major unions including Rastravadi Tapaya Salak Sangh, Pragatisil Auto Association, Delhi Auto Drivers’ Association and Janasakti Tipaya Salak Sangh went ahead with their planned strike from 11 pm last night opposing the government’s order.
“I had to wait for almost 45 minutes to board a bus as most of the buses were overcrowded. The strike has really affected the public transport system,” said Rohan Aggarwal, a resident of Bhogal area in South Delhi.