On Monday, the capital woke up to empty streets with various auto-rickshaw, cab and taxi unions in the Delhi going on strike in protest against fare hike. The protesters which include drivers of Ola and Uber cabs are demanding a CNG subsidy and a fare revision in the wake of rising fuel price
The protesters are scheduled to hold demonstrations outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Civil Lines residence by the afternoon to press their demands. Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh General Secretary Rajendra Soni confirmed the news.
Strike causes chaos
Commuters in the city faced difficulties in getting cabs and autos on Monday morning. Passengers outside Delhi's Railway stations faced difficulties in getting transport as well. Though cars were available on Ola and Uber apps, the fares were inflated. Auto and cab drivers’ unions have been demanding a hike in fare and slashing of CNG prices to offset the impact of rising fuel prices.
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Speaking to Outlook, Ratan Kumar, an auto driver in Delhi's Sukhdev Vihar area, says that the strike is the only way to make the government listen and that it will go on until the demands are met.
"People will complain if they don't have transport. This is the only way. The government has not heard us, we hope they hear the demands of the commuters," Kumar says.
He adds that strikes are not only a problem for commuters but also the driver. "We have to give up on an entire day's income," Kumar, a migrant from Madhya Pradesh, adds.
There are over 90,000 autos and more than 80,000 registered taxis complementing the public transport system in the city. As per reports, most unions have decided to go on strike for one day and resume services from Tuesday. However, some like the Sarvodaya Driver Association Delhi, which has members who drive for cab aggregators like Ola and Uber, said it will be an "indefinite" strike.
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Recently, the Delhi government said it will form a committee to consider a fare revision in a time-bound manner. The unions, however, have refused to call off the strike. "Our strike has started and it will continue throughout the day. CNG has become costlier and we cannot keep running our business on losses. We should either be provided a subsidy of Rs 35 per kg on CNG or fares should be hiked," Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh General Secretary Rajendra Soni tells PTI.
Soaring prices reason for strike
The strike was announced following a hike in price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) which rose by Rs 2.5 per kg and Rs 4.25 per unit respectively. Consumers in Delhi and NCR will now have to pay Rs 71.61 fo a kilogram of CNG and Rs 45.86 per unit of PNG, Moneycontrol reported. This is the fourth hike in April and the ninth hike in CNG prices this year after five consecutive increases in March.
Auto fares were last revised by 18 per cent in 2019 by the Delhi government while taxi fares were revised last in 2013.
(With inputs from PTI)
