Auto drivers threaten strike from November 23

Brace yourselves for an auto strike from November 23. Auto drivers in the twin cites are planning to keep their autos off the roads from Tuesday midnight, protesting against lack of response from the state government, to hike minimum fares from Rs 12 to Rs 20.Members of the Auto Driverla Ikyakaracharana Samithi (ADIS) said in a press conference on Friday, that in the last year, petrol prices were revised nine times but the government has not increased fares.“On Thursday, Transport department principal secretary SP Singh said the Transport minister will hold talks with auto unions to address our concerns on Tuesday morning. If talks fail, we will be going on an indefinite strike,’’ Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh state secretary A Ravi Shankar said.He said in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, auto fares were revised according to cost of living and fuel prices. “This time we are not going to yield for anything less than `20. There has been talk the government might hike fares by a couple of rupees, but we strongly reject it,’’ ADIS members said.Besides hike in fares, unions will be pressing the government to implement several demands agreed to in 2008. One demand is setting up sufficient gas stations for supplying CNG for gas-based autos. ADIS members also demanded that autos registered under numbers AP 28 and AP 29 should be allowed to ply in Greater Hyderabad.“The then Transport minister Kanna Lakshminarayana promised a welfare board for auto drivers will be established.But till now no such board had been established,” Ravi Shankar added.