Will lay siege to TN Secretariat on April 23, if demand not met, warn auto driver unions

CHENNAI: Federation of All Auto Rickshaw Trade Unions and CITU leader S Balasubramaniam on Wednesday warned that the drivers would lay siege to Fort St George on April 23 if the State fails to fulfil its demands, including fare revision and ban on bike taxis.

The dawn-to-dusk strike called by the Federation of All Auto Rickshaw Trade Unions on Wednesday, demanding implementation of a five-point charter of demands, received a lukewarm response as many auto-rickshaws were plying as usual. At the same time, the drivers held a demonstration at Anna Salai.

Speaking to reporters at the demonstration, CITU leader S Balasubramaniam stated that auto-rickshaw fares have not been revised in the past 12 years. He said that after the Madras High Court directed the state government to revise fares in February 2022, the transport commissioner formed a committee to gather feedback from auto-rickshaw driver unions and passengers. This committee recommended fare revisions to the government. However, the proposal has been pending at the chief minister's office for over two years.

Balasubramaniam noted, "The non-revision of fares affects the livelihood of drivers." The unions are requesting a minimum fare of Rs 50 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 25 for every subsequent kilometre. He also urged the state government to launch its app for booking auto rickshaw rides.

Trade unions have advocated for regulations on bike taxis, while some drivers demand a complete ban. Despite this, the government allows bike taxis to operate without any regulations. Balasubramaniam pointed out that Maharashtra and Delhi have banned bike taxis, and Karnataka has restricted their operations by allowing only yellow board transport two-wheelers to function as taxis.

He also demanded the government stop imposing online fines for traffic violations of auto rickshaws as it affects their livelihood. "If the government fails to fulfil our demands before the debate on the demand for grants for the Transport department in the state assembly, we will lay siege to the state secretariat on April 23," he said.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar on Wednesday said that a few unions have called for a strike. "We have already held talks with trade unions including LPF and they have made certain demands. When we are taking up the matter with the chief minister, some unions have called for a protest. We request them to call off the protest as the issue will resolved soon, " he said. When asked whether fresh talks would be held, he said that there was no need for it.