Sanjay Nirupam, the Congress candidate for Mumbai North West, has promised to look into a plan to provide housing for autorickshaw drivers and examine the feasibility of opening up grounds to them for parking at night. He made these promises during an interaction with around 50 autorickshaw drivers outside Jogeshwari station on Friday.

“We will work on a plan to provide a cooperative housing scheme for autorickshaw drivers who have valid licences. If teachers and journalists can have housing, why not autorickshaw drivers?” Mr. Nirupam asked.

Several autorickshaw drivers opened up about the issues they face on a daily basis, which include high insurance premiums, lack of parking space and the e-challan system. “Rising insurance payments is one of the key issues autorickshaw drivers and owners face in the city. Around five years ago, the annual premium used to be nearly ₹5,000. It has increased in the past few years and today stands between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000 per year,” said Lalchand Jaiswal, who has been an autorickshaw driver for 25 years.

The other key issue autorickshaw drivers brought up was parking. “We live in slums and don’t have a provision to park our vehicles there. If we park them on the street, the police simply click a photo of our autorickshaw and fine us online. If the charges go beyond a point, they seal our autorickshaws,” Azhar Ansari, another driver, said.

Autorickshaw drivers also demanded that the government provide some kind of medical insurance and pension that would serve as a safety net for rickshaw drivers’ families if they fall ill or retire. “At night, we can consider an arrangement where autorickshaws may be permitted to be parked on open grounds,” Mr. Nirupam said, adding plans for housing or parking are complex and will require work.