'Revanth Reddy spoke of justice for everyone...': Telangana auto drivers protest against free bus service for women

Auto rickshaw drivers in Telangana on Tuesday protested against CM Revanth Reddy's Mahalakshmi scheme, offering free travel on state transport buses to women and girls.

The drivers argued the scheme is affecting their income and demanded that the government should intervene and bail them out of their impending financial troubles. They held a protest at Kadem in Telangana's Nirmal district.

"How do we feed our children and pay their school and college fees? This scheme will severely hit our livelihoods. There should have been a few limits to the scheme on who is eligible and who isn't. Most buses are running nearly empty with just 3-4 women in them," an auto driver told a local TV channel. 

"We never thought the scheme will extend to all buses, we thought they would be limited. CM Revanth Reddy spoke about justice for everyone, will he give justice to the 1 crore people in Telangana who are dependent on autos for their livelihoods?" asked another protesting auto driver.

"I used to earn Rs 1,000 per day and now this scheme will hurt me and my family. How do I pay EMI, electricity bill and finance for my auto. In his quest for votes, Revanth Reddy made lot of tall promises. This government won't last long. I got gas worth Rs 1,000 for my auto and I could barely exhaust gas worth Rs 200," said another agitated auto driver. 

Sources in the state government told PTI recently that according to a rough estimate, the RTC used to earn Rs 2,500 crore annually through women passengers. As the scheme got implemented, the Congress dispensation will have to replenish the same amount to the corporation, which is reeling under accumulated losses of Rs 6,000 crore. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is expecting women’s share in ridership to go from 40% presently to 55% by the year-end.

Netizens are divided over the issue the auto drivers are fighting against. Some said they feel bad about the situation of the auto drivers while some others said they should start running on meters and stop charing Rs 150-200 to travel 2 kilometres. They said metro rail has already been a bane for their existence and now the free bus scheme will aggravate their dire situation.

Some netizens said the free bus scheme won't affect bus driver's earnings because unlike buses, autos go into the internal roads and takes the passenger to the doorstep and that those who are used to that won't shift to buses. 

Meanwhile, a Times of India report said Telangana auto unions aren't against the free bus scheme even though some loss in ridership, especially in rural areas, is likely. However, their main demand is not to remove the scheme but implement their demands of a welfare board for all transport workers.

"Women savings go to family needs, not on drinks or parties. Our women deserve better. Instead of lamenting empowering schemes, let's focus on tax waivers for big businesses, politicians' expensive foreign tours, and lavish photo shoots with designer suits," said an X user.