A protest was organised by rickshaw pullers in front of the Collectorate here on Monday against the alleged indifference of the government towards their plight.
The rickshaw workers eke out a living by using their rickshaw to transport grocery items, cement, steel and other building materials as rickshaws are no longer preferred as a means of transport in the city except in the Old Town area.
The main demands of the rickshaw workers were: granting of pension to those who crossed 60 years of age, provision of ESI cards to enable them to get treatment at private hospitals, sanction of JNNURM houses to eligible rickshaw pullers and payment of compensation to those who lost their rickshaws during the cyclone.
The others demands were: earmarking of spaces for parking of rickshaws, provision of loans for repair of rickshaws, provision of photo identity cards and provision of essential commodities through fair price shops.
The protest was carried out under the aegis of Visakha City Rickshaw Karmikha Sangham (AITUC). A memorandum was submitted to the District Collector listing the demands.
The signatories to the memorandum were: M. Sombabu, T. Venkateswara Rao, Chelluri Babji, A. Malibabu and G. Vamana Murthy.
