Auto strike at railway station partially hits passengers

NAGPUR: The daylong strike by pre-paid autorickshaw owners partially affected passengers who had to move out of the railway station premises to hire vehicles.

The passengers walked with luggage outside the station till Jaistambh Square to hire autorickshaws. The agitation was called off at 4pm.

The Lokseva Prepaid Auto Chalak Malak & Taxi Sanghatana went on a strike from 11am to 4pm to protest against Central Railway, Nagpur division’s, decision to allow entry of Ola cabs through tendering process.

As per the Railway Board’s policy, the Central Railway has decided to allot space at west side of the station for Ola cabs, where pre-paid auto stand also operates. After calling tenders, the cab aggregator was allotted space for 10 cabs for Rs35 lakh annual fee for three years.

While the railway’s decision was taken amid heavy public demand, the sanghatana members are opposing Ola cabs fearing that their entry will eat into their business.

State auto union leader

Dharmaji Bagde

said granting permission to Ola cabs is completely illegal. On a petition filed by

Association of Radio Taxis

, the Bombay high court has also sought to know how Ola/Uber cabs are operating in the state on tourist permits.

When pointed out that auto drivers are charging heavily,

Bagde

said, “Pre-paid autorickshaws are operating on a fare of Rs 14 per km as fixed by the RTO. Whereas there is no fare fixation by RTO for cabs and hence, they are charging less.”

Railway spokesperson & ACM SG

Rao

termed the strike as illegal. “We will provide security to passengers if needed. The cab aggregator has been brought in as per railway policy and there is nothing illegal in it,” said Rao.

However, Nagpur Nagrik Vikas Samiti leader Ajay Patil, who led the agitation, said Ola/Uber operations are completely illegal. “We have nothing against Ola/Uber but the cab aggregators should come through RTO approval. These cabs have all India permit and hence, cannot operate in the city,” Patil said.

The auto drivers have no objection to cabs dropping passengers at station but will object to picking them up from inside the premises.

Rail Yatri Sangh

president Brij Bhushan Shukla said many passengers have been complaining about auto drivers entering inside the station and pestering them to hire autorickshaws. “Auto drivers at times are also rude and hence, cabs can be an effective solution to curb such practices,” said Shukla.