By IANS
Hyderabad : The indefinite strike by the auto-rickshaw drivers in Hyderabad entered the fifth day Saturday to protest installation of digital meters.
A majority of the 120,000 auto-rickshaws in the city remained off the roads Saturday. But a split among the striking drivers appeared when about 6,000 drivers came forward to install the digital meters.
Tension prevailed near Sundarayya Park Saturday when auto drivers tried to take out a rally to protest against the government’s decision. Police arrested dozens of protesters and their leaders.
Police cancelled the permission it granted earlier for the rally.
Shouting slogans against the government, they demanded that the authorities allow them to run their vehicles with the existing meters.
Meanwhile, minister for transport Kanna Lakshminarayana has ruled out talks with the auto drivers on the issue. He said the digital meters were in the interest of both the drivers and commuters.
Officials from the transport department, meteorology department and traffic police seized more than 1,000 auto rickshaws last week for tampering with their meters.
The strike has not had much impact as the authorities are running additional buses and local trains. However, school children were hit.
The government claims 80 percent of the auto rickshaws meters were tampered and has fixed Dec 1 deadline for replacing the old meters with digital ones.