Petrol pump strikes affect daily life of harried commuters in Delhi

Another political hoopla turned the daily life of commuters miserable. Petrol strikes and protests by different taxi unions, contractual transport employees and closure of petrol pumps in Delhi affected many public lives on Monday. The hardship was against the Delhi government who stays glued to its refusal to cut sales tax on petrol and diesel that directly affects the transport services.

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The protestors, an organisation of contractual employees, staged their demands of parity in wages at the headquarters of Delhi Transport Corporation and also to take back orders for reducing wages.

Various reports surfaced that some employees even tried to disrupt bus services at depots of the public transporter.

A DTC official reported that some employees tried to deliberately disrupt bus services at depots of the public transporter.

Leaders of contractual employees claimed that about "50 percent" buses could not run due to the strike.

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"The strike will continue indefinitely with more employees joining it. Today, nearly 50 percent buses were not on roads," said Manoj Sharma, president of DTC Contractual Employees Union.

Taxi and auto unions affiliated to Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti were also on strike Monday against the Delhi government's anti-transport policies" and impact on their employment due to cab aggregators.

"The strike was to express our resentment over failure of the government to redress our grievances," said Inderjeet Singh, chairman of All India Tour and Transport Association and convener of the joint forum.

"Auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers are losing their employment due to wrong transport polices of the government and also due to low fares offered to commuters by cab aggregators," he said.

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The situation was further worsened by the closure of petrol pumps and CNG filling stations in the city on a call of strike given by Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA).

One day strike by over 400 petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units was held in protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels.

"We regret the disruption caused to our rider and driver-partner community, due to a small group of individuals. We remain committed to serving the city and ensuring that our driver partners continue to access a stable income, while giving riders a convenient, reliable option to get around Delhi," said an Uber spokesperson.

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