Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 13
The protest by autorickshaw drivers over the recent directive from the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Dimapur continued on May 13. Even as the Dimapur District Auto Drivers’ Union (DDADU) was reported to have met the RTA and district administration to further deliberate on the matter on May 12, autorickshaw drivers protested at the Dimapur-Chumukedima route parking lot today.
Many passengers were stranded for hours during the day as the police faced stiff opposition from drivers.
Unhappy over the RTA directive that would reduce per day earnings, the drivers refused to ferry passengers on the Dimapur-Chumukedima route. The drivers began to take the route only as evening approached when police checks enforcing the directive lessened.
The lack of city passenger bus service became clearly evident as passengers, who have been relying on the ‘shared-auto’ system for years, had to either wait or turn back. A non-existent city bus service means the public have to either use ‘shared-auto’ or personally hire one, which normally costs between Rs. 200-500 on the route or simply on how well the fare is pre-negotiated.
The enforcement of the RTA directive banning the seating of passengers on either side of the driver entails a loss of at least Rs. 60 per trip for the driver, which translates to a few hundred rupees per day. Rs. 30 is the shared per passenger charge on the Dimapur-Chumukedima route.
The protesting drivers contend that if the RTA directive is to be enforced it has to follow suit with revision of fare (per passenger). While neither the DDADA nor the district administration could be reached for comment, the RTA is reported to have asked DDADU to submit a memorandum proposing fare revision at the meeting held on May 12.
