It was a day of jolly rides for autorickshaw drivers in the city as close to 90 per cent of the Government buses remained off road and commuters were reportedly fleeced left right, and centre with the former taking advantage of the State Wide Strike by various transport unions.
Members of various unions, except the AIADMK’s Anna Thozhir Sangam, were on a strike starting from the early hours on Sunday for various demands including the revision of wages, settlement of Rs. 1700 Crore dues for more than 10000 retired workers with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC).
An estimated 22000 buses were reportedly off road on the day and despite best efforts of the State Government in making things convenient for commuters, most of the commuters were stranded in bus stands with only private buses and a few Government buses running.
The Coimbatore District Administration had announced that special trains were being run from Coimbatore to other districts and had also invited those with heavy duty licenses to work as acting drivers during the strike.
However, local commuting was a task tough to be bothered with for the Administration and autorickshaw drivers in the city, took advantage of the crisis fleecing the commuters on the go.
Autorickshaws from Coimbatore Railway Junction were found to be collecting atleast more than 20 per cent from the public on the day and the bus bays near important places including Railway Junction, Town Hall, Gandhipuram, Saibabacolony New Bus Stand had more autorickshaws than buses.
S. Aravind, one of the commuters said that he was fleeced Rs. 200 to reach Gandhipuram from Railway Station, whereas on normal days, the fare would be less than Rs. 120.
Commuters also felt that while the Government had tried to make the situation normal for the public by holding talks, despite them failing, had also miserably failed to make alternative commuting options for local travelling.
Meanwhile, the Government was trying to pacify the protesters by holding talks with the unions thereby trying to reach a consensus with the protesters.