While the nation celebrated Diwali on 13th November, Auto drivers of Jalandhar kept themselves away from the lights of this festival and instead held a protest so as to show their dissidence towards the recent steps by the authorities to restrict them to plying traffic within the limits of the city. These auto drivers observed black Diwali and demanded that they should be allowed to go beyond the limits of Jalandhar even to rural areas.
The auto drivers were supported by various trade and workers' unions in the demonstration which they took out under the banner of Ujjara Virodhi Sangharsh Committee. The procession was first taken out near the General Post office which later moved on to the inside of the city. Leaders talking on the behalf of the auto drivers said that they were being fined for going outside the limits of the municipal corporation and that the authorities were preventing them from plying to nearby rural areas. They also said that the authorities were trying to keep them within the limits of the city in order to favour private bus operators.
The auto drivers said that since a large number of them were self employed, if they were not allowed to ply to nearby villages, many of them would be left unemployed. Therefore, they wanted the authorities to immediately stop challaning the auto drivers going out of the city.
However, the authorities are imposing penalties on the auto drivers going out of the city limits because permits granted to them by the Transport Department restricted them to plying within the city areas only.
The speakers addressing the protest said that the protest would be made even stronger to demand permits for rural areas as well. Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) state president Kulwinder Waraich, speaking on the occasion said that the authorities were harassing the auto-rickshaw owners in order to favour the big transporters. He said, "Suitable changes should be made in the transport policy and auto drivers should be granted permits for plying on rural routes otherwise Jalandhar would be made centre of agitation of the auto drivers."
While the auto drivers observed black Diwali and held demonstration to allow them to drive outside the limits of Jalandhar, any decision on the matter was yet to be taken by the government officials.
