Commuters suffer as autorickshaws go off-road in Ranchi

Commuters and school students faced hardship in Ranchi on Thursday as autorickshaws considered the lifeline of the city transportation system went off the roads in protest against some government restrictions. Different associations have also decided to stop plying cab aggregators and city buses from Thursday. Students of many schools on Thursday morning were seen walking several kilometres with their parents to reach school.

"Due to the strike of autorickshaws, we are facing a big trouble. My daughter and I have been walking for six kilometres to and fro for the past two days," Babita Devi, a parent, told PTI after leaving her daughter at a private school in Dipatoli Ranchi. Students, who use autorickshaws as a means of transportation for going to school, are facing a similar situation across the city. Train and bus passengers are also facing problems due to the strike.

The limited autos which are plying are charging hefty amounts from commuters. The autorickshaw associations including battery-operated e-rickshaws have been on indefinite strike since August 27 in protest against several issues such as prescribed routes, alleged discrepancies in permit issuance and hefty fines during a crackdown by Ranchi district administration.

State CNG Auto Driver's Association president Dinesh Soni said the administration has divided the entire Ranchi city into four zones and prescribed 17 routes for autorickshaws and 113 routes for e-rickshaws. "The auto-rickshaw and e-rickshaw associations have protested the new route charts. We want a rollback of the new route chart," Soni said.

He said that the administration has also restricted the plying of permit-holding autorickshaws to only three kilometres. "There are 5,000 permits holding autorickshaws while 12,000 non-permit holding autos. The number of permits is not being increased and now the kilometre limit has also been reduced," he said. Meanwhile, a senior official at Ranchi traffic department said that all initiatives were taken in a bid to reduce traffic load on city roads and deal with the issue of frequent traffic jams.