Bhubaneswar, March 22: Sudhir Rout, 65, faced a tough time reaching here from Keonjhar to get his eyes treated at the AIIMS today. Upon reaching Baramunda by bus, Rout wanted to take an autorickshaw to AIIMS. He saw a few autos parked outside the bus terminus, but none agreed to take him to the hospital as they were on strike.
Rout was not the only one who had a harrowing as autorickshaws across the state went off the road to protest against the Centre's decision to hike registration tax, insurance fees and fitness certificate fees. Around 30,000 autorickshaw operators from Bhubaneswar joined the protest today.
If the autos were off the road there was not much alternative support for commuters who found it difficult to reach their destinations.
"Even the city buses that ply within Bhubaneswar were so overcrowded that I could not board one. I had to wait at Baramunda for an hour. Finally I took a city bus and reached the hospital. But I reached AIIMS so late that the queue at registration counter for outpatient department had become long by that time and I had to wait for my turn," Rout said.
Commuters, especially office and college goers, were the worst sufferers of the strike. A number of commuters were seen stranded at major traffic intersections - such as Rasulgarh, Vani Vihar, Acharya Vihar, Kalpana Square, Jayadev Vihar and Baramunda Square - waiting for buses.
"I reached Vani Vihar station by train and had to wait for around 45 minutes there to board a bus for Utkal University. The buses were so overcrowded that it was difficult to even step onto the footboard of one. Later, I chose to walk to the university," said Anita Mangaraj, a student of the university.
The picture of commuters' ordeal was similar in Cuttack city.More than 6,000 autorickshaws stayed off the roads in support of their demands.
As a result, most commuters were seen turning to rickshaws. For Matha Sahi resident Dilip Nayak, who had to go Mangalabag, a cycle rickshaw ride was an experience long forgotten.
"But today, cycle rickshaws came in handy as autorickshaws stayed off the roads," he said.
"We went on strike following a call by the All-Odisha Autorickshaw Drivers' Federation," said Shailen Dhala, Cuttack Autorickshaw Drivers' Association president.
All-Odisha Autorickshaw Drivers' Federation president Subash Singh said: "Around 1.44 lakh autorickshaws stayed off the roads across the state today as two lakh drivers and operators joined the strike."
The federation had called for the strike to protest the new rules that bar them from carrying school students in large numbers. The association also protested against the central government's new insurance and tax rules.
The Bhubaneswar Auto Mahasangha members also staged a dharna at Lower PMG Square. They were protesting against the state government's plan to cap the number of autorickshaws in the capital and only allowing the autorickshaws on feeder routes.
Members of Puri Auto Chalaka Mahasangha blocked the road in front of railway station by burning tyres and forcing the tourists to walk to reach their destination.
"We are not against increase in the number of city buses in Bhubaneswar. If the government wants to ply more buses, we don't have any objection. But, it should also create dedicated lanes for autorickshaws in the city. As per the new plan, autorickshaw operators will not be allowed to ply on the main roads which will lead to loss of their livelihood," said All-Odisha Auto Chalaka Mahasangha general secretary Padman Kumar Samal.
He said around 4 lakh people travel in autorickshaws in the state's urban areas, with another one lakh people in rural areas depend ant on auto-rickshaws.
