Auto-rickshaw drivers protest against CM

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 10

Members of an auto-rickshaw union, here, staged a protest against Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Jagraon Bridge for not waiving off their pending challans.

Lakhwinder Singh Dhillon of the union said the CM had earlier announced that all pending challans of auto drivers would be waived off and the drivers would need to pay just Rs 1 as a fine.

Dhillon said whenever the auto drivers visit the RTA office, they were told that no notification had been released to waive off the pending challans.

He said: “The CM had come to meet us last month. We had raised some issues, including pending challans. We were assured that the challans would be waived off and the auto drivers would need to pay just Rs 1 for the same. As the challan amount has not been waived off, we have not got our auto- rickshaw documents back. We are being forced to make repeated rounds to the RTA office but our voice is ignored. Thus, we held a protest today.”

The protesting drivers ended the dharna after the police assured them that steps would be taken to get their issues resolved. “If our issue is not resolved on Saturday, we would make further plan to stop the auto services in the entire city soon,” they said.

“We are being misguided and our sentiments are being hurt as the CM has not fulfilled promises that he had made with auto-rickshaw drivers,” another auto-rickshaw driver said.

Gurdeep Singh Gosha of the Youth Akali Dal came in support of the protesting auto-rickshaw drivers. Gosha alleged that the Congress government was deceiving the auto-rickshaw drivers by making false announcements.

He said CM Charanjit Singh Channi was just making announcements as he did not fulfil promises he made with auto-rickshaw drivers last month.

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