Demanding that the State government hike the auto meter charges, the autorickshaw drivers of Greater Hyderabad on Sunday staged dharna at the busy RTC Crossroads. The protestors also demanded that the government immediately scrap the controversial GO No. 108 under which the Traffic police officials were challaning and collecting money from the poor auto drivers.
Alleging that Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Transport Minister Botcha Satyanarayana were adopting indifferent attitude towards their problems, the irate auto drivers burned an effigy of the State government. Shouting anti-Congress government slogans, the protestors resorted to road blockade bringing the vehicular traffic to a grinding halt.
Warning the State government that they would continue to intensify agitation till it gave a categorical assurance that it would help solve their problems, the agitators demanded that the government with the rules auto drivers should have passed Class VIII for obtaining licence and badge.
The auto drivers’ unions’ leaders demanded that the government hold talks with them keeping in view the problems being faced by the general public for the past two days or they will be constrained to take out a big march towards the Legislative Assembly on Monday. (NSS)
