EMN
Dimapur, February 11
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]uto rickshaw drivers in Dimapur have also demanded reduction of fares for other public transport services such as buses, trucks, and taxis following the district administration’s recent curb on the illegal fares being charged by the auto rickshaws in Dimapur. A group calling itself the “general auto rickshaw drivers’ issued a note on Wednesday.The note said the drivers were “disturbed” by the district administration’s reducing auto rickshaw fares in Dimapur/. The ‘general auto rickshaw drivers’ have demanded to know from the administration why fares of other commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks, taxis “and especially the much hiked prices of essential commodities” have not been reduced.
The auto rickshaw services are not against the Regional Transport Authority or the district administration over the decision to reduce the auto fares, the note appended by the group’s president Hokhuvi P Aye and member Nramo Murry. ‘…The same yardstick should be applied on other prices and fares which were hiked directly or indirectly due to raise of fuel price. The general auto rickshaw drivers justified that the hike on fuel prices had effected not only the rise auto rickshaws fares but also of other commercial vehicles and price of commodities as well and therefore same measure should be applied on all those others effected by hike of fuel price.” “The auto rickshaw drivers said the authority concerned have not done anything for the welfare of the drivers, who are made to dish out not less than one hundred rupees on daily basis to pay various taxes in and around the town,” the group asserted.
“At this juncture with lessened auto fare, the auto rickshaw drivers said how would they pay the daily collection of taxes, perform act of charity of giving concession to whosoever and sustain their livelihood.” Mention may be made here that fuel prices have been reduced several times since its last hike a year ago. The global decline in prices of oil especially in the oil-producing countries has also impacted India, much to the joy of the population.
