Coimbatore, Nov. 27
The Federation of Autorickshaw Workers Union has alleged that a senior official from the Transport Department had issued statements against the interests of the auto drivers.
At a recent meeting, the autorickshaw unions in Coimbatore decided to adopt a fixed rate of Rs. 30 as minimum fare for 1 km and Rs. 15 as fare for every additional km. The unions also decided to implement the new fare from January 1, 2018. However, their repeated representations to the state government to get the approval for the proposed new fares had failed.
The auto drivers in their petition to the District Collector, T.N. Hariharan, have stated that "After the entry of private auto operators like Ola, Jugno our livelihood has become highly risky. These players are eating our meal."
"To safeguard our interests, we had decided to fix our own fare from January 1 2018. Despite, repeated representations, the state government and the district administration are yet to approve our revised fares. In this regard, a senior official from the department had issued a statement that legal action would be initiated against auto drivers for trying to adopt new fares," they stated.
They further lamented that either government should accord permission to go ahead with the proposed fares or should restrict the private operators who operate at their whims and fancies. "The statement issued by the senior official is highly suspicious and one-sided", they asserted.
The Federation of Autorickshaw Workers Union has alleged that a senior official from the Transport Department had issued statements against the interests of the auto drivers.
At a recent meeting, the autorickshaw unions in Coimbatore decided to adopt a fixed rate of Rs. 30 as minimum fare for 1 km and Rs. 15 as fare for every additional km. The unions also decided to implement the new fare from January 1, 2018. However, their repeated representations to the state government to get the approval for the proposed new fares had failed.
The auto drivers in their petition to the District Collector, T.N. Hariharan, have stated that "After the entry of private auto operators like Ola, Jugno our livelihood has become highly risky. These players are eating our meal."
"To safeguard our interests, we had decided to fix our own fare from January 1 2018. Despite, repeated representations, the state government and the district administration are yet to approve our revised fares. In this regard, a senior official from the department had issued a statement that legal action would be initiated against auto drivers for trying to adopt new fares," they stated.
They further lamented that either government should accord permission to go ahead with the proposed fares or should restrict the private operators who operate at their whims and fancies. "The statement issued by the senior official is highly suspicious and one-sided", they asserted.