Mumbai paralysed as autos stay off roads

The strike called on Monday by the 83,000-strong Mumbai Auto-rickshaw and Taxi Union (MATU) and its leader, Shashank Rao, managed to paralyse the city even as hassled commuters tried to make their way to work on the first day of the week.

The impact was felt the most at Bandra and Kurla stations, from where share and meter auto-rickshaws ferry commuters to and around Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), including venues of the ongoing Make in India Mumbai week.

The ordeal looks far from over with Mr Rao declaring that talks with the new Transport Commissioner, Shyam Vardhan, were unsatisfactory and that the union might protest next week as well.

Prakash Subramanian (25), who wanted to travel from Bandra to BKC said, “I was on my way to see the ‘Make in India’ exhibition and had to finally call a friend to pick me up from Bandra station.”

MATU had called the strike demanding that RTOs crackdown on illegal auto-rickshaws; bring private players like Ola, Uber, Tab Cab etc. under the state government; and decrease the amount of Rs 15 for drivers to get permits. With the union sticking to its guns, the strike was successful.

Commuter Ruhi Bajpai (24), who works in healthcare and commutes from Mahim to Andheri said she had the most difficult time reaching her office in Seven Bungalows. “A lot of times, these people declare a strike and don’t go through with it so I did not take them very seriously. When I reached Andheri at 9 am, there was not a single auto in sight. I had to catch a bus which took me to my destination faster as there was no traffic but I could not get off at my stop because of the crowd,” she said.

“We are very unhappy with the talks with Mr Vardhan. We will be discussing with senior leaders for the next three days and taking a more intense stand next week,” said Mr Rao. Asked if there will be another strike, he said, “Maybe but many have shown their displeasure. We will make an official announcement by the end of the week.”

Meanwhile, Mr Vardhan said that MATU’s demand to stop illegal auto-rickshaws from plying will be looked into but their demand for private players to be brought under the ambit of the state is being looked into by Transport Minister Divakar Raote. “The Minister is looking into the draft rule and taking suggestions from everyone. It will soon be put in place,” he said.

To break the Monday strike, a lot of opposition unions from MNS and Shiv Sena began to drive their auto-rickshaws late in the morning, sporting the respective political party’s flag. Although Mr Rao officially announced that the strike will end by 6.00 pm, it began to fizzle out by 2.00 pm with almost half the auto-rickshaws back on the streets.

Although the Transport office had officially permitted select private vehicles to ply commuters outside stations, most commuters went the BEST way with buses overflowing and snaking queues at Bandra and Chembur.