Auto-Rickshaw, Cab Drivers End Strike In Bhubaneswar After Talks With Police Commissioner

Bhubaneswar: Hours after launching a strike against alleged humiliation by agitating Odisha Drivers’ Mahasangha activists, members of Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ association called off their stir after talks with senior police officials on Thursday.

This information was given by president of Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ association, Dinabandhu Nayak.

The auto-rickshaw and cab drivers in Bhubaneswar and some other places under the banner of Smart City Online Auto-rickshaw Drivers’ association decided to end their strike following talks with police commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi, he said.

The association members will lodge complaints at the respective police stations where they faced humiliation and misbehavior.

Sources said normalcy in auto-rickshaw and cab operations is likely to be restored soon following the association’s decision to call off the strike.

Earlier this morning, auto-rickshaws and cabs remained off roads in Bhubaneswar and some other places as the association members observed a strike protesting alleged humiliation by the agitating Drivers Mahasangha.

Association leaders said over 10,000 auto-rickshaw 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.

The striking auto and cab drivers staged demonstrations in different places holding placards and banners. They also raised slogans against the Drivers’ Mahasangha.

In Bhubaneswar, many auto-rickshaw drivers held protests at Lower PMG and Janpath protesting against the alleged humiliation by agitating bus drivers