Hyderabad: The indefinite strike by owner-cum-drivers of government hire vehicles entered its second day on Thursday, July 16, with thousands of drivers attached to various state government departments continuing their protest across all 33 districts of Telangana.
The Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers Association (TGFWDA) said the agitation was aimed at drawing attention to long-pending demands of drivers who ferry officials of government departments, and appealed to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to intervene immediately.
Demands remain unresolved: TGFWDA
According to the association, drivers have submitted multiple representations to the Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, the Chief Secretary, the Finance Department and the Transport Department over the past several months, but no concrete decision has been taken so far.
“We once again request the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to resolve this issue at the earliest through positive dialogue and immediate action,” TGFWDA founder president Shaik Salauddin said in a statement.
The association’s two main demands are an increase in the monthly government hire charges from Rs 34,000 to Rs 55,000, and the immediate clearance of pending hire vehicle bills across all government departments.
Livelihoods at stake, says association
Salauddin said thousands of owner-cum-drivers and their families were facing severe financial hardship on account of low hire charges and delayed payments, a situation that has persisted even as vehicle costs, fuel prices and EMIs have risen over the years.
The association said timely intervention by the government would not only protect the livelihoods of the drivers but also ensure that public services dependent on hired vehicles continue without disruption.
Salauddin, a long-time organiser of driver unions in Telangana, has in the past flagged that hire charges for government-attached vehicles have remained largely unchanged for several years despite a steady rise in operating costs.
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