July 19: Special efforts have been made to abolish heavy and unjust fines that auto rickshaws/taxi are required to pay even for minor mistakes.
As part of the efforts a letter of request has been written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, Director General of Police, Police Commissioner, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic and Assistant Commissioner of Police.
Mr. Abhijit Rane, Founder General Secretary of “Dhadak Kamgar Union”, the parent body of “Dhadak Auto Rickshaw Taxi Driver Malak Union” wrote the letter for the issuance of necessary guidelines to cancel the fine being imposed by the traffic police on auto rickshaws and cabs for small mistakes.
In the letter, Mr. Abhijit Rane said that “Dhadak Auto Rickshaw Taxi Driver Malak Union” has closely observed the increased problems faced by rickshaw drivers, because of Covid-19 lock down. If the problem of fulfilling the basic needs of their family was not enough for the rickshaw drivers, banks are now confiscating their rickshaws for loan recovery. The helpless rickshaw drivers are further victimized, as they now have to pay heavy fines that are being slapped on them by traffic police in Mumbai and suburbs even for minor mistakes.
These mistakes include rickshaw, taxi parked in no parking zone even for 2 minutes, driver not wearing uniform driver prescribed by the government, pickup or drop of passenger from crowded place, stop on road side to drink water or drop passenger. They have to pay a fine of up to Rs. 3000-5000, even if they go or park their vehicle on the side of the road and talk to family members on mobile in an emergency.
The amount of fine depends on the mood and desire of the traffic officer, in which the rule of humanity and equality is not followed. The result of this is that the back of the rickshaw drivers has been broken.
The Founder General Secretary of “Dhadak Kamgar Union” Mr. Abhijit Rane has demanded the relevant authority to instruct the traffic police of Maharashtra to stop asking the rickshaw drivers to pay the fines for small and insignificant mistakes. Towards this end, Mr Abhijeet has urged the authorities to issue the required guidelines to the traffic police of Mumbai and suburbs. For the purpose, he also plans to soon meet the Transport Minister of the Government of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Eknath Shinde, and the Deputy Chief Minister, Shri Devendra Fadnavis. . Mr Abhijeet has asked the rickshaw and taxi drivers to rest assured, as he will do whatever he can to solve their problems.
Apart from serving as Founder & General Secretary of Dhadak Kamgar Union, Mr. Abhijeet Rane is also Group Editor, Daily Mumbai Mitra & Daily Vrutt Mitra, VastMedia Group. He always takes the lead in resolving the grievances of the poor laborers. The effort to get the unjust fines abolished is just another gesture of support that Mr. Abhijeet has made to the auto-rickshaw and taxi driving brethren. www.dhadakkamgarunion.com
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Vijay Singh
