Coronavirus pandemic, since March 2020, has affected several businesses in the state. Under the 'Mission Begin Again' initiatives, the state government of Maharashtra has permitted several activities to resume, however, the lifeline of Mumbai - Local Trains - have not yet started for the general public. Meanwhile, auto-rickshaw drivers in the state have also suffered heavy losses in the months, where their services weren't available due to the lockdown.
As per reports, the state has not allowed the services to resume completely due to the spread of COVID-19 infection, and the government has also not provided any financial assistance to the rickshaw drivers.
The government of Maharashtra, under the BJP rule in 2019, had committed to setting up a welfare board for the betterment of their business. The auto-rickshaw union had staged a protest and strike demanding their needs to be fulfilled, and the former CM Devendra Fadnavis had committed to solving their concerns. The government had assured that necessary steps would be taken and the message was communicated to the union led by Shashank Rao. However, the plan has not been implemented and is still on paper.
Meanwhile, the auto drivers recently demanded an increase in base fare from INR 18 to INR 20, and no decisions have been taken in this regards too. The union has stated that this can be implemented at a later date.
Following these concerns, the President of the Mumbai Autorickshaw Taximen's Union, Shashank Rao has raised some demands for the betterment of the drivers.
According to a government circular, only autorickshaw drivers in essential services are allowed to operate with a maximum of only 2 passengers. Keeping this in mind, the union demands unrestricted services with full capacity in the state including Mumbai and MMR regions.
Observing the losses accumulated over the months, Rao has demanded that rickshaw drivers be given INR 10,000 per month for the subsistence of the family, asking the same to be implemented with immediate effect. Lastly, the union demands special teams be appointed at district level including major cities like Mumbai and Pune to curb illegal traffic.
Drivers are also waiting to make the most of the pension and the medical insurance benefits promised by the previous state government, however, decisions regarding the matters are also pending and no official communication has been made in this regards. Records state that more than 1.5 lakh families in Maharashtra are currently dependant on rickshaw business for their livelihood.
Share
Tweet
