A multipurpose cooperative society to cater to the needs of autorickshaw owners and drivers was floated in the city on Thursday.
It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who welcomed the establishment of the cooperative society to cater to the financial requirements of auto owners and drivers. The Auto Owners and Drivers’ Association urged the Chief Minister to release Rs. 25 lakh as seed money for the successful operation of the society. The amount would be used as the corpus for the welfare fund of its members, the association said.
There are nearly 20,000 registered autos in the city, but the community members were deprived of many government programmes and schemes. Members of the association urged the Chief Minister to include them under the Yeshaswini Health Scheme of the State government, apart from issuing BPL cards.
Their other demands included issuing permit to ferry passengers to tourist places beyond city limits, and land for construction of a community hall. Auto drivers said that their earnings were meagre after deducting the fuel and maintenance cost, and it was difficult to make both ends meet.
Include us under Yeshaswini Health Scheme, say members of Auto Owners and Drivers’ Association
