Smart City Auto-Rickshaw Drivers’ Association Call Off Strike

Bhubaneswar: Hours after talks with senior police officials on Thursday, the Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association called off the strike.

The association had called the strike in protest against the alleged humiliation and insult of its members by the Drivers’ Ekta Mahasangha activists who are on an indefinite strike to press for their 10-point charter of demand.

Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association president Dinabandhu Nayak said that the auto-rickshaw and cab drivers in the capital city and some other places decided to call off their strike after talks with Police Commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi.

Now, the members of the association members will lodge complaints at their respective police stations where they face humiliation and misbehaviour. Earlier this morning, auto-rickshaws and cabs remained off-road in Bhubaneswar and some other places.

Association leaders said over 10,000 auto-rickshaws and taxi drivers participated in the strike in the state capital. Auto drivers in other cities including Cuttack and Puri also halted operations as a mark of protest against the alleged humiliation.

Members of the striking Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ Association staged demonstrations in different places holding placards and banners. They also raised slogans against the Drivers’ Ekta Mahasangh.