The drivers want a meeting with chief minister Bhagwant Mann and have warned of a protest if their demands are not met. They also announced that they would move court, for which they have gathered details and documents of diesel auto-rickshaws.
Satish Kumar Arora, president, District auto-rickshaw workers’ federation, said, “All diesel vehicles cause pollution but the govt and administration target only diesel auto-rickshaws. Rules are the same for everyone but action is only being taken against us.” He pointed out that a new CNG and e-rickshaw costs over INR 4 lakh and poor auto-drivers could not pay such an amount. “Therefore, we are requesting the govt to provide us INR 40,000 per diesel auto-rickshaw,” said Satish. He said that the Amritsar MC offered financial assistance to auto drivers using smart city funds, after which they replaced their three-wheelers with e-rickshaws and CNG vehicles.
Earlier this month, police gave two months to diesel auto-rickshaws to get off city roads. When they threatened to stage protests outside CM Bhagwant Mann’s rented accommodation in Sangrur, they were given two months to comply.
In March, police did not allow entry of more than 15-year-old auto-rickshaws in the city for a few days. Later, drivers were given two months to either replace their three-wheelers or get relief from court. There are around 8,000 diesel auto-rickshaws in the city. An official of the regional transport office (RTO) said that the court had prohibited the entry of diesel auto-rickshaws in a few cities of Punjab, including Ludhiana.
MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi said, “Amritsar MC had a dedicated project but here, we do not have any such project under the Smart City mission. However, we have requested the state govt to find a way as drivers of diesel auto-rickshaws are willing to replace their three-wheelers.”
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