Peak-hour auto strike leaves Sealdah passengers in lurch

KOLKATA: A large section of auto drivers on one of the most congested routes in the city — Beliaghata to Sealdah — went on a flash strike for over two hours on Monday, leaving thousands of commuters in the lurch. This is the fifth such strike over the last six days by auto operators of different routes in the city.

The drivers protested over the same old issue of steady rise in the number of illegal operators on the route.
“There are 320 autos on the route. Out of which more than 60 autos do not have valid papers but still ply on the route. We have time and again protested against the issue before the cops and the union leaders but no actions were taken. Hence, we have started this strike,” said Subho Rana, one of the protesting drivers at Beliaghata crossing.
The drivers said they had been complaining about the issue for the past several days but the lid blew off when an auto driver, who had worked for BJP in the elections, was suspended two days ago for openly protesting against the activities of the union in allowing the illegal autos to ply.
“I was suspended by the union when I went to protest against the issue. But they said I was creating trouble because I support BJP. But no one is addressing the real problem that we are highlighting,” said Joy Das, the suspended driver, who was leading the protest.
From 11am on Monday, more than half of the total auto drivers of the route, parked their three wheelers along the lane near Beliaghata Main Road and Chowlpatty Road and refused to take passengers. By noon, several other drivers had joined in the protest and service from Sealdah, too, had stopped.
The sudden closure prompted the union leaders and cops to rush to the spot and persuade the drivers to lift the blockade, following which services resumed from around 1.30pm. The secretary of the INNTUC-run auto union confirmed the repeated protests by a section of auto drivers but hinted that it was a possible divide among two groups of auto drivers who support two different political parties.
“The auto drivers who have been protesting are being swayed away by BJP and Left leaders. There is no major problem in the route. There are some drivers who have offer letters from the Public Vehicle Department (PVD) but are yet to get valid permits. We have allowed them to run on the route. But for the past few weeks, a section of drivers have been targeting the poor drivers and approaching police seeking action against them,” said Dilip Roy, the union leader.
In the melee, the passengers, dependent on the three wheelers on the route had a harrowing time. “I waited for over 30 minutes asking each driver but they wouldn’t move. They didn’t even tell me that there was a strike. I waited there for several minutes before taking a bus,” said Ramesh Hari, a Beleghata resident who had to catch a train from Sealdah.